Forbidden Romance
by XxEmoxAzumexX
Summary: Spencer is your not-so-average teenager; lonely, depressed, and often labeled. He hates his life and tries to end it, until mysterious new friends help him out... Lots of fluff, angst, and funny stuff sure to come!
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone. Sorry I haven't been around in a while, but I have a good feeling about my new story. Please keep in mind I put my heart and soul into this project, so nice reviews and constructed critism are accepted. It may take a while to get all the chapters up, but I will get it done, somehow, someway. So enjoy!

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The rain fell heavily as thunder clapped violently and lightning lit up the stormy night sky. There was supposed to be a big summer festival all day, but it was canceled due to the storm. There were no people to be found out in the violent downpour. One teenager, however, was out walking in the storm, getting drenched from head to toe. He wasn't coming back from a party or going to a friend's house, or even paying much attention at all; quite the opposite, really. He was just walking around, crying and trying to sort things out in his mind. He was miserable; anyone could see that, no matter how hard the rain came down.

The crying teen was nothing short of an outcast. No one seemed to like him or want to talk to him or even want to be in the same room as him, he's noticed this all the time in school. Everyone would stare at him with a look of intense loathing whenever he'd walk into a room, and more often than not, other boys would try to abuse him when they had him cornered in the bathroom. They'd always claim that he tried to get them first and that they had only acted in self-defense. Liars. Everyone always believed them and their lies.

With his jet-black, red-tipped hair hanging in his face,and his emerald-green eyes downcast at the ground, the Emo Kid stood motionless, thinking. He was thinking of how to end it all; how to end the pain, how to end the misery, how to end his life. He blinked, a fresh sea of tears close to escaping his eyes, and decided to end it the way he'd always feared. He was going to jump off the bridge and drown himself in the river.

He nodded sadly and silently to himself and began walking, not caring if anyone would miss him or not. No one would miss him. He was positive of that. The only thing that people would miss was the fact that they loved to hate him and keep him on the verge of tears and suicide on a daily basis. He turned a corner and made his way down the street, quickly spotted the rain-soaked wooden bridge, and sighed. This was it, his chance to end it all. It was now or never.

He took a deep breath as he placed one foot on the edge of the bridge, and looked down at the rushing, almost violent-looking water. He gulped nervously and shut his eyes tight, looping the chains of his Tripp pants around his wrists. He knew this would hurt a lot - his clothes were ripped and his skin was really sensitive - but he didn't care. It had to be done. He turned around and sighed again before finally letting himself fall backwards , down towards the violent water of the river.

He hit the water hard even though he'd fallen in headfirst. The waves caused by the storm had hurt his bare skin, and the Emo Kid could already feel bruised forming on his body. He opened his eyes and blinked furiously a few times to get used to the freezing water, but it stung his eyes, along with his ruined make-up. Looking up at the water surface as he was slowly sinking down, he noticed something that sort of frightened him; he could have sworn he'd seen someone standing in the spot he'd just jumped from. That wasn't possible - it couldn't have been possible. He hadn't sensed anyone following him. So then, who was standing on the bridge?

Whoever it was jumped in, regardless of the biting cold, and swam down to save the drowning teen. The Emo Kid tried to yell, but he'd released the breath he was holding and ended up sucking in a mouthful of cold river water, causing him to choke and start coughing. He looked up again and managed to see the outline of the person who jumped in wrap their arm around him and begin swimming upwards. This was the last thing he remembered seeing before slowly slipping out of consiousness...

**...Some Time Later...**

The Emo Kid slowly opened his eyes, lightheaded, and coughed quietly. He'd remembered seeing someone on the bridge, but...something wasn't right. He was now sitting in a booth in the back corner of a resturaunt near a window, and he noticed something odd about his clothes; they were dry and unusually light. He looked down at his clothes and blinked - these weren't his clothes. They were someone else's. He was now wearing a pair of slightly baggy red plaid boxers and a small black Slipknot shirt.

_'What's going on...?'_

"Well well. Glad to see you're awake"  
The shocked teen looked up and saw another teenage boy standing before him, smiling.

"Are you okay?" the other boy asked.

The Emo Kid could feel his ckeeks turn pink as he stared the other teen in the face. He had long, shocking, untamed orange hair, kept back in a ponytail, and bright aquamarine eyes. His skin was about the same pale color as the Emo's skin. He hesitated before muttering a shy, "Yeah."

The orange-haired teen's smile widened and he sighed in relief. "That's good. For a second there, I thought you'd needed to be taken to a hospital after I got you out of the water. So, what's your name?"

"Spencer," the Emo Kid replied shyly.

"Spencer, huh? My name's Kain." He bowed to Spencer, letting his long ponytail brush the floor. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Spencer stared nervously at Kain, feeling his cheeks turning oh-so-slightly pinker. 'He's so kind...he even saved me when I jumped...'

"Ah, well," Kain said, sitting down across from Spencer, "if you don't mind me asking, why did you jump?"

The Emo Kid hesitated. "Because...because I wanted it all to end..." Spencer looked down at the tabletop, feeling about ready to cry again. "I'm always getting hurt by everyone, and nobody cares about me. I'm better off...dead..."

"That's not true."

"Huh?"

Kain gripped Spencer's chin with his thumb and index finger, and forced the Emo to look at him. "I said, that's not true," he replied, unsmiling. "You think everyone hates you, but I have proof that someone cares about you."

"W-what do you mean?" Spencer asked, blushing a little.

"Think about it; if no one cared about you, you'd be dead right now. So you being here alive is proof enough that someone really does care about you. That someone loves you, and doesn't want you to die."

_'L-love...?'_ Spencer stared at Kain, eyes full of tears threatening to fall, and blushed again. Nobody had ever told him that they loved him before, including his own mother and father, and yet Kain had said that someone loved him. He thought he had an idea of who...

Kain continued to look Spencer in the eyes, and did something unexpected; he smiled a little and blushed the faintest shade of pink anyone's ever seen before. "Trust me, you're not alone anymore," he whispered softly. "Believe it or not, we're the same, you and I."

"How so?"

"We're both outcasts," the orange-haired teen said, gazing out the window at the stormy night sky. "Can you imagine that?"

Spencer looked out at the night sky as well, shaking his head. "There's no way. I mean, I know I'm an outcast, but you? You're not an outcast. You're the perfect member of society everyone loves."

"Heh...not quite. I don't belong in this kind of society."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, turning back to Kain.

Kain smiled sadly and heaved a great sigh. He turned to Spencer, gazed deeply within his emerald eyes, and murmured, "Spencer, I'm a vampire."

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Sorry it was kinda short. The next few chapters will hopefully be longer. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, my second chapter id finally up! I'm sorry about the last one, by the way. Please don't be mad at me. I had to label the kid and make him really depressed. It just wouldn't fit if he was happy in the beginning. He get's happier later in the story, though. I promise!

Here you go! Enjoy!

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Spencer stared at Kain nervously. "Y-you're a...vampire?"

"Yeah," Kain replied, nodding. "I am." He stared out the window again, smiling sadly. "I don't know why, but the other creatures treat me like an outsider. To them, I'm nothing more than dirt."

"That can't be right...you should be treated better," Spencer said, frowning.

Kain sighed, shaking his head. "It's really no use; if I try to get them to treat me better, they'll only treat me worse. It's like no matter what I do, I just can't get any respect...it's crazy." He looked back at Spencer, eyes clouded over with sadness, and chuckled. "Not that it matters anymore, really," he added, seeing Spencer's sad expression. "I've gotten used to it by now."

"Yeah, but even so...you should still be treated better. No one deserves that."

The older teen smiled slightly. "Please,"he said, "let's discuss something else. I don't feel very comfortable talking about the others."

Spencer nodded. He glanced around the resturaunt, thinking of something else to say, when something odd caught his ear - humming. He directed his attention back to Kain, staring questioningly and wondering why he was humming. When Kain caught him staring, he grinned and shrugged.

"Sorry," he said. "I like that song."

"Which song was that? It sounded nice."

"Monsoon, by Tokio Hotel."

The younger teen's eyes widened slightly in amazement. "You know them?"

Kain nodded, smiling. "Of course. One of my favorite bands. That song fits this situation rather well, don't you think?"

"...Yeah...it kinda does," Spencer replied, blushing a little.

A bright flash of lightning illuminated the resturant, but neither of the two teens payed it any mind. Only when the the thunder boomed did Spencer bite his lip nervously and glance out the window. And when the electricty went completely out, the young teen whipered in fear.

"What's the matter, Spencer?" Kain asked. He seemed unfazed by the sudden loss of light.

"N-nothing, I'm fine," Spencer lied.

"Oh really?" When the thunder crashed again, noticably louder than before, Spencer yelped. "That doesn't sound very 'fine' to me."

Spencer put his arms over his head, as if to sheild himself from the thunder and lightning. "I'm sorry...I-I don't like thunderstorms..."

"Why not?"

"Because...I just don't like them...I have a bad history with thunderstorms..."

Kain thought for a moment before asking something that caught the young Emo Kid off gaurd. "You were left out in a really bad storm before, weren't you?"

"...How did you - "

"Trust me, I can just tell." Although Spencer couldn't really see him, Kain smiled and looked Spencer in the eyes. "It's alright, you don't have to be afraid anymore."

Spencer cringed when lightning lit up the darkened resturaunt and thunder boomed again, seeming to echo around the teens. "Why's that?" he asked, closing his eyes tight.

"Because," Kain said, smiling. He got up and sat down next to the frightened teen, and wrapped his arms soothingly around Spencer, instantly calming said boy. "I'm here now. And I always will be."

Spencer blushed, and relaxed into the vampire's embrace. "Thank you, Kain...no one's ever been this nice to me before..." he said, looking down at the tabletop.

"I don't see why not," Kain whispered, his smile fading. "You should be treated with the utmost care."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, now staring at Kain confusedly.

Kain held Spencer close, wanting the words to sink in. "You're fragile. If you're not handled with care, you could easily break." He brushed a hand against Spencer's cheek, staring deeply into his beautifully bright emerald eyes. "And I don't want you to break. I care too much about you to let that happen."

_'W-what?'_

"Spencer..." Kain placed his hand gently on the Emo Kid's shoulder, and when said teen flinched, Kain frowned slightly. "Please don't be afraid."

Spencer hesitated and finally nodded. He never broke eye contact with Kain.

"I promise you, Spencer," Kain murmured, his face slowly inching towards the younger teen's, "I won't hurt you. Trust me."

Blushing a deep shade of pink, Spencer looked down at the floor, afraid of doing something stupid that he'd regret later if he met the other boy's eyes.

Kain's smile reappeared, only it was...darker than before. It kind of scared Spencer. He pushed Spencer's shirt collar out of the way at the base of his neck and slowly lowered his mouth to it, breathing lightly against his skin and sending shivers up and down the Emo's spine. He gently began carressing Spencer's neck with his teeth, and chuckled softly when Spencer started breathing in short little gasps.

"You sound as if you're enjoying this," Kain stated.

"I...I've never...done this...before..." Spencer replied. His body was trembling, no matter how much he begged it to stop.

Kain smirked, all the while letting his hands roam Spencer's chest down to his stomach. Spencer moaned softly and suddered beneath the vampire's fingertips, making Kain's smirk grow wider. He let his fangs pierce the skin of Spencer's neck, and slyly allowed his hands to wander up the front of the young Emo Kid's shirt.

"A-ahhh...Kain, what are you...d-doing to me...?" Spencer moaned, leaning slightly into Kain's touch.

"Hmm?" Kain was busy claiming Spencer's neck, drinking the blood he was so politely given. He could tell Spencer was enjoying this, but he wanted to show his young friend more. Much more.

He pushed Spencer back, trapping said teen between himself and the cold glass window, unable to move. He pulled away from the younger teen momentarily, looking into his eyes once again.

"Kain," Spencer breathed. "This feels...I-I can't explain this feeling..."

"Do you like it?" Kain asked, resting his forehead against Spencer's.

"...Yes..."

Kain smiled at his trapped young friend, his hands continuing their journey up Spencer's shirt, and whispered, "I'm glad. I thought I was the only one who was enjoying this."

Spencer opened his mouth a little to say something, but in that instant, Kain had roughly covered his mouth with his own. He could feel Kain's teeth pricking at his lower lip, begging for entrance, while his hands reached up to where his heart was beating wildly in his chest. He blushed again, moaning softly in spite of himself.

The vampire's hands soon found their way up to his shoulders and, smiling rather seductively, lifted up the Emo Kid's shirt, taking in the sight of the young teen's half-naked body. He lowered his mouth back down to his previously made mark on Spencer's neck and began gently nipping and sucking at the sensitive punctured skin, making the youger of the two whimper and squirm. He shook his head, blushing madly, and stuttered, "N-no...no!"

"What is it?" Kain asked, concern clearly visible in his aquamarine eyes.

"This...feels weird..."

Kain smiled a guilty little smile. "I know. I'm sorry." He kissed Spencer's chest before backing off and blushing a little himself. "Uh...I tend to get like that when...well...when the full moon's out. Heh, sorry...I guess I got a little...carried away..." he muttered, scratching his head sheepishly. "It's...really something I...can't help...I'm really sorry about what just happened, Spencer." He stared down at the floor, embarrassed and shocked at what he'd been doing to Spencer just moments ago. He internally scolded himself and sighed.

"It's alright, Kain," Spencer replied, pulling his shirt down and still blushing. "I understand how you feel. I do things that I can't help, too. You're not the only one."

Kain looked back up at Spencer and smiled a little. He wrapped an arm around Spencer's waist and held the younger teen close, resting his head on the Emo Kid's head. "Thanks," he said. "Hey, maybe we can help each other break these bad habits. What do you say?" he asked.

Spencer smiled sweetly and leaned against Kain's shoulder, wrapping both of his arms around the older teen's stomach. "Sounds good to me," he replied. He closed his eyes and felt the warmth of Kain's body heat mingle with his own. It felt nice, just sitting there like that. Spencer wanted it to never end. He felt tired, but he didn't want to sleep just yet; he wanted to stay awake and feel the vampire's embrace. Whether he wanted to stay awake or not, however, he was having some trouble not to accidentally doze off. Kain noticed this instantly, grinned, and kissed the Emo Kid lightly on the forehead.

"Getting tired, Spencer?"

"A little, yeah..." Spencer yawned and snuggled closer into Kain.

The lights flickered for a brief second, and they once again turned back on. Spencer grumbled softly and turned his head so that his face was buried in Kain's shoulder.

Kain chuckled and slightly tightened his grip around Spencer. "Come on, I'll take you home. Your parents must be worried about you, and I'm sure they'd be glad to see you," he said, smiling.

"Ha! Not likely. They'd only want to see me if they need to take their anger out on someone," Spencer said sleepily. He yawned again and hugged Kain tighter, not wanting to let him go. "I really don't want to go home. I want to stay with you," he murmured, looking up at Kain sadly. "Please don't make me go back."

"I'm sorry," Kain said, smiling apologetically, "but you really should be at home. Or at least check in and see if it's okay if you can stay with me. I'm fine with it if they are."

Spencer sighed sadly. "Okay," he mumbled. He smiled tiredly and stood up and followed Kain out of the booth. Yawning, he watched the older teen turn off the lights, grab an umbrella, and finally followed him out the door.

The storm had let up some, but there was still enogh rain and low rumbling thunder to last through the night. Spencer and Kain were walking to the Emo Kid's house, barely speaking a word as they traveled in silence, listening to the storm. They were lost in their own thoughts. Spencer was sad that he had to go back home, seeing as how more likely that not his parents would beat him, but he'd do anything to to ask them if he could stay with Kain. That way, everyone would be happy. But of course, things usually went planned one way and turned out completely different, usually not for the best, either.

"What if they hit you when we get there?" Spencer asked nervously. "I know they're going to hit me - they always do - but I don't want them to hurt you."

Kain glanced at Spencer, shocked. "They hit you?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. I just don't them to hurt you."

Kain smiled reassuringly and wrapped an arm around Spencer's shoulder. "They're not going to hurt me, Spencer. And I'll see to it that they don't hurt you, either."

They soon arrived at Spencer's house and exchanged uncertain, almost sad smiles as Spencer knocked on the front door. They heard a shout coming from somewhere inside the house, and about a minute later, Spencer's mother and father appeared in the doorway. They glared at their son before turning their attention to Kain, forcing strained smiles onto their faces.

"Why, hello there young man," Spencer's mother said, sickly sweet. "What are you doing with this...thing?" She glared closely at Spencer, his face unreadable and his hand close to Kain's.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am. I'm simply escorting your son home. I hope you don't mind," Kain replied, smiling politely.

"No, not at all," Spencer's father said. He looked as if he were about ready to hit them both, and immediately, Kain picked up on the sudden hostility.

_'Listen,'_ he telapathically instructed, _'if either of you do anything to hurt Spencer, you'll get it right back a thousand fold. Do you both understand?'_

Spencer's parents both looked as if they'd seen a ghost, for they were both nervously looking at each other and nodding, terrified.

"What's the matter?" Kain asked, fighting back a grin.

"Did either of you hear something?" Spencer's father asked.

"Like what?" Spencer asked, trying not to laugh; he'd heard Kain's threat as well, and although he was a little freaked out, he thought it was hilarious to see his parents so scared.

"Nothing, nevermind," Spencer's mother said, waving it off.

"Oh! Can I stay with Kain tonight?" Spencer asked, smiling hopefully.

His parents exchanged a suspicious look and shook their heads. "No, your friend has to be heading home. He's probably got things to do tomorrow. Some other time."

Spencer frowned and sighed.

His parents turned and walked back into the house, silently discussing the threat they heard clearly in their minds.

Kain closed the front door until it was open just a crack. He turned and looked at Spencer, smiling as if to say sorry, and wrapped his arms around him in another warm embrace. "I can stop by tomorrow if you want. Is that okay with you, Spencer?"

"Yeah, it's perfect, Kain." Spencer hugged the older teen tightly, not wanting him to go, and sighed again. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Kain nodded, smiling. "Alright. It's a date, then." He grinned when Spencer began to blush, and leaned down to kiss the Emo Kid goodnight. He pecked Spencer lightly on the lips before walking down the front porch and in the opposite direction from where they just came from, waving goodbye.

Spencer waved, still blushing, and walked into the house. He shut the door, locked it, and walked down the hall and up the stairs to his bedroom. _'So much has happened tonight...a vampire saved me from drowning in the river, and now...'_ Spencer sighed happily as he walked into his room, shut the door, and walked over and fell back onto his bed. He blinked, realizing how tired he was, and turned over onto his sideto watch the rain fall. He yawned, and some time later, he fell soundly asleep, not even bothering to pull the blankets over himself.

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Hope you liked it. Please don't get mad if you still thought it was bad. I'm sorry!


	3. Chapter 3

**okay, i'll say this right now: i'm sorry i have to label the poor kid. Leave me alone. please just enjoy the story okay?

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…**The Next Day…**

Spencer slowly opened his eyes and yawned, sitting up in his bed. He stretched his arms and legs and looked out the window at the bright sunny day. He smiled faintly, but sighed when reality hit him. It was sunny out; vampires couldn't be caught in the sunlight, which meant Kain probably wouldn't be able to see him until after the sun set.

"Why does it have to be so bright today?" he asked mournfully, staring outside.

He sighed again and swung his legs over the side of his bed, stood up, and stretched again, yawning loudly. There was something that worried him about today, besides the bright weather; he had the feeling that someone was watching him. He looked around his bedroom, but caught himself and shook his head, scolding himself for being so stupid. He was about to get some clothes out of his closet, but the sound of his mother's voice filled the air as she seemed to be yelling.

"Spencer!" She sounded annoyed. "Spencer! Get your lazy ass out of bed and get down here, right now! There's someone here to see you!"

'_Huh? Someone's here to see…me?' _Spencer stared at the closet for a second, deciding between getting dressed or going downstairs in what he had on, and quickly decided it's best to go down before his mother yelled at him for keeping her waiting.

"Spencer!"

"I'm coming!" Spencer shouted. He ran out of his room, quickly took the stairs three at a time, and ran to the living room, nearly killing himself by tripping over a pair of roller skates lying on the floor. "I'm here," he panted, stumbling over to his mother and the front door. "Who wants to see me?"

Spencer's mother opened the door as wide as it would go, and Spencer stared in shock and awe; Kain was standing at the front door, smiling.

"I do," Kain replied. He snickered slightly upon seeing Spencer's shocked expression, but all the same, he was there. And all the same, he wanted to see Spencer.

"Oh my God...K-Kain?"

"You were expecting Tokio Hotel, maybe? Heh, of cousre it's me!" Kain said, playfully wrapping his arms around the younger teen. "What have you been up to, Sleeping Beauty?"

Spencer blushed slightly and smiled. "Nothing much, Prince Charming. How about you?" he asked, hugging the older teen back.

"Ah, same here. I was thinking: how about we go out to the carnival or something?"

"Cool. Sounds fun!"

"Is it okay with your parents?" Kain asked, looking over at Spencer's mother.

"We don't give a damn about what that thing does." Spencer's mother walked back into the house, ignoring the fact that Kain was staring after her with a look of pure disgust.

"I can't believe your mom and dad treat you like that," Kain said in a hushed tone. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you should stay here. No offence."

"None taken." Spencer noticed the bag in Kain's hand and stared at it questioningly. What's in the bag?"

"Your clothes from the other night. I washed them and dried them for you, so you could wear them again without having to wash them again."

"Thanks, Kain," Spencer said, smiling.

Kain tightened his grip around Spencer and affectionately nipped his ear. "Come on, let's go get you some clothes. I'm going to take you out today for the best time of your life," he said. He held Spencer at arm's length and smiled. He followed Spencer, who was now smiling himself, into the house and up to his room.

When they reached Spencer's bedroom, Kain walked over to the bed and sat down, putting the bag off to the side, looking around the room. "Nice," he said.

"Thanks. Don't mind the mess, I haven't really gotten around to cleaning my room in ages," Spencer replied from the closet. He was picking out some clothes for the day, although he didn't have to argue with himself again about what to wear: he picked out his tight black jeans and a black My Chemical Romance shirt. He turned around, showed Kain, and smiled.

Kain smiled back. He examined the bed and pillows, but quickly stopped and grinned somewhat evilly. He leaned across the bed and picked something up from between the pillows, turned back to Spencer, and snickered.

"What?" Spencer asked, looking confused.

"Is this what I think it is?" Kain held up a little white baby blanket for Spencer to see, and immediately the shocked and embarrassed Emo began turning bright pink.

"Where did you find that?"

"It was between the pillows."

Spencer made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a gasp, and made a wild dive for Kain and the blanket, abandoning his clothes on the floor. He flew across the room and landed hard on Kain, still pink in the face, and tried to grab the baby blanket from the vampire teen; unfortunately, Kain just laughed and played keep-away with Spencer's blanket while Spencer had him pinned down to the mattress.

"Come on, Kain!" Spencer whined. "Give me back my baby blanket!"

Kain smirked amusedly and kissed Spencer's nose, which succeeded in making said teen blush harder. "I can't gaze upon your childhood comfort item?" he asked as Spencer made another attempt to swipe his blanket out of his grip.

"No, no you can't." Spencer finally managed to get the baby blanket out of Kain's possession and hugged it close to his body, afraid that Kain would try to take it away again. "It's my childhood comfort item, not yours."

Kain faked a pout and laughed. "Oh, all right," he said. He sat up, watching Spencer hug his white blanket, and looked out the window. It was as bright and sunny as ever, although Kain could've sworn that he'd seen a shaggy-haired brunette teen look up through the window at him, smirk, and walk away from the house. He immediately shuddered. He felt Spencer shift around behind him, and soon felt his arms around his chest. He turned his head and saw that Spencer was smiling almost questioningly.

"Is something wrong?"

Kain shook his head. "Nah, just thinking."

Spencer stared at him for a moment, and smiled again. He set his blanket down on one of the pillows, stood up, and walked back over to the closet, where his abandoned clothes lay on the floor. He then turned back to Kain and asked, "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"I'm positive," Kain replied, smiling slightly. "Don't worry."

Spencer nodded and turned around and, with his back facing Kain, began to change. He pulled off the Slipknot shirt that Kain had dressed him in the night before, walked to his dresser and pulled out clean boxer-shorts and changed into those, and pulled on his tight black jeans. It took a moment to get used to the feel of them, considering he hadn't worn that particular pair of jeans for a while, but he felt comfortable. He tugged his chain bracelet on, and before he could put on his shirt, he heard Kain stand up and walk over to him.

Kain wrapped his arms loosely around Spencer's chest and nuzzled his neck affectionately. He sensed Spencer's smile and kissed his earlobe. Spencer blushed -Kain could feel the heat radiate from his face- and the Emo Kid made a noise like trying to stifle a whimper when the vampire let his hands explore his chest.

"Ah-ahh...Kain..."

"Yes?"

"Are you trying to...to molest my chest with your hands...?"

Kain grinned mischeiviously and rested his head on Spencer's shoulder. "Maybe." He laughed and poked Spencer in the belly button.

Spencer laughed a little bit as well, leaning back on Kain. "Well, I hate to disappoint you and your wandering hands, but I've got to put on my shirt," he said, grinning like Kain. He slipped his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, and slowly pulled the shirt over his head. He playfully stuck his tongue out at Kain, who looked fakely upset.

"Oh, you're not nice, Spencer," Kain said, grinning.

"Well, neither are you, Kain," Spencer replied, grinning as well. "Trying to feel me up...sneaky, sneaky."

Kain laughed, Spencer laughing along with him. He tightened his grip around the Emo Kid and kissed the top of his head, quickly ridding the thought of the smirking brunette out of his mind. "Well, now that you're ready, how's about we head out for our big day out on the town?"

Spencer smiled sweetly and nodded. "Awesome," he said.

"Okay, let's go."

Spencer and Kain ran out of the Emo Kid's room, slid down the stairway banister, and bolted out the door for their day of fun. They walked down the street, talking about all the fun they were going to have and laughing excitedly, eager to have the time of their lives. As they turned a corner, there was a sudden feeling of fear and concern that surged through the two teens, causing them to glance at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Something was wrong.

"Hey, Kain...I don't feel so good. It feels like something bad's going to happen today," Spencer said, nervously looking around.

"I know, Spencer. I feel it, too."

Spencer nudged closer to Kain, glancing over his shoulder. He stared up at the sky, as if trying to find the thing that was causing so much stress, and could have sworn he's heard something like a bark-like laugh. Startled, he quickly began looking around until Kain put his arm around him and put his hand on the Emo Kid's shoulder.

"It's okay, Spencer," he said, staring straight ahead. "I'm here. I'll protect you. I promise." He looked down at Spencer and smiled, pulling him closer.

Spencer smiled and blushed a little. "Thanks, Kain."

They continued walking, occasionally making sure no one was following them, and finally reached the carnival. They grinned at each other and took off running towards the rides they were going on first. They were blissfully unaware of what trouble they about to meet...

Spencer and Kain got onboard The Screamer and took the very front seats. They observed the activity and other carnival-goers as they patiently waited for the other people to get on the ride, ocasionally discussing what their next ride should be. They'd finally settled on either the huge rollercoaster that circles the entire carnival or the Tilt-A-Whirl when everyone else got on and the ride started up. Spencer screamed. Kain screamed. Everyone screamed, and it was great...and loud.

"Oh man," Spencer said as he and Kain got off the ride, "that was awesome! Ooh, I feel dizzy, though..."

"Yeah," Kain replied. He was walking a little crooked, a result of his own dizziness. "I know what you mean."

Spencer smiled weakly and sat down on the nearest bench. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying not to think of the dizziness that he was feeling. He knew he was swaying slightly in his seat, but he didn't care; he just wanted to feel normal again.

"Hey, you okay?" Kain asked, taking a seat next to the Emo Kid. "You don't look so good. Do you feel like you're going to throw up?"

"I'm fine, I'll be okay," Spencer replied. He opened his eyes and smiled again, reassuring the concerned vampire.

"Want something to drink, Spencer?"

"Yes, please."

The two teens got up and made their way over to one of the food stands and ordered two lemonades. After they received their drinks, they walked back and sat on their bench, talking and laughing. Kain was about to say something, but immediately stopped when he saw someone he'd never thought he'd see again; leaning against a gate a few feet away was the same shaggy-haired brunette teen that Kain had seen smirking up at Spencer's window earlier that day. He was still wearing that same smirk, watching the vampire and the Emo Kid, and that worried Kain greatly.

"Spencer, run."

"What?"

"Run," Kain whispered, watching the brunette. As said shaggy-haired teen began walking towards the two teens, Kain grabbed Spencer by the wrist, pulled him up onto his feet, and ran into the crowd of people, hoping to lose the smirking brunette. They ran until they came to the center of the carnival, and ducked into the fortune-telling tent.

"Kain, what's going on?" Spencer asked.

"Damn...how'd he find me after so long...?" Kain peered out of the tent's opening, and inhaled sharply. "Please don't make a sound, Spencer." He gripped Spencer's wrist, they both knelt down and crawled under the covered table, and held their breath.

They heard footsteps enter the tent, stop, and walk up to the table. Kain subconciously put his free hand over Spencer's mouth, even though Spencer didn't dare breathe. Spencer blinked and glanced at Kain, silently asking why they were hiding, and shut his eyes tight when the intruder's foot was visible just outside of the tablecloth. Kain kept his eyes glued to the person's foot, both of them practically suffocating from loss of breath, and felt their hearts skip a beat as the new person finally spoke.

"You know, I know you're under there, you two. You can't hide forever."

'_How did he find out?'_


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright, you two. Out."

The two teens hesitated, still holding their breath, and sighed, reluctantly crawling out from under the table. They stared down at the floor as they stood up, not wanting to see that smug, victorious expression on the brunette teen's face. When they heard their finder's laugh, they instinctively laced their fingers together, holding each other's hands.

"Heh. I'll admit, you two picked a good hiding place, choosing this old fortune-telling tent. I don't believe anyone could think of something like that in such a state of panic. Well done, boys." There was the sound of tinking glass and a soft thud on the table in front of them. "It's safe to look up, you know. I'm not the one of whom you fear. I'm the fortune-teller."

Spencer and Kain looked up, shocked. There was, indeed, no other teenager with them; there was only the fortune-teller. They sighed in relief and smiled at each other, laughing off earlier fear.

"Sorry," Kain said, smiling apologetically.

"We thought you were somebody else," Spencer said.

The fortune-teller stared at the two teens and smiled. "It's quite alright, boys. I tend to get that reaction from a lot of people. You see," he explained, setting up the rest of his tent, "I usually show up at the wrong time for people who are nervous about something...or in your case, someone." He turned around and shrugged his shoulders, laughing. "I guess I've got a sense of bad luck and bad timing, huh?"

The vampire and the Emo Kid shrugged, still holding each other's hands. "Don't know, maybe," they replied together.

The teller laughed again and sighed. "Well, in any case, I'm not the boy you're hiding from, so you're safe."

"Thanks for not being him," Kain joked. "Well, we have to go. See you around."

The two teens walked out of the fortune-teller's tent, waving good-bye, and cautiously looked around, keeping an eye out for the brunette. They carefully walked through the crowd, staying close to each other. They kept walking until they reached the front of the carnival, all the while looking out for that all too familiar smirk. Quickly spotting the roller coaster, Spencer and Kain made their way over to it at a running pace.

"Cool, we found the roller coaster!" Spencer said excitedly. He got in one of the seats and strapped on his seat belt. "This is going to be fun!"

"Yeah," Kain agreed, smiling. He, too, got into his seat next to Spencer and put on his seat belt. "Hopefully we won't get as dizzy on this ride. That wouldn't be very good."

The ride jerked and started up, causing everyone to let out a little yell, including Spencer and Kain. They smiled excitedly as the roller coaster jerked upward on its tracks towards the sky, giving them the best view of the carnival. The ride stopped momentarilly at the topmost point of the tracks, giving quite a few girls a chance to practice screaming in terror, and suddenly plummeted downwards, causing everyone to start screaming loudly.

The roller coaster picked up speed as it swiftly shot downwards, and just as swiftly shot back up, darted around a bend, went into a loop going upside down three times in a row, and proceeded to shoot through a dark tunnel. Everyone raised their arms into the air, screaming and having a blast. Even the Emo and the vampire forgot all about the mysterious brunette teen...at least, for the moment. What they didn't know was that somewhere in the carnival, there was a kidnapping plot in the making...

As the ride went around a few more times, the two teens began feeling the same fear they felt earlier upon entering the fairgrounds. They glanced at each other, frowning slightly, and studied the activities of the other carnival-goers. Seeing nothing suspicious, Spencer and Kain smiled uncertainly at one another and waited for the ride to pull up to the stop and unload its passengers. Then they heard it again: they heard that same bark-like laugh from earlier.

The two teens unbuckled their seat belts, and before Spencer could even get his foot out of the seat, Kain seized him by the wrist and dragged him out to the crowd of bustling people.

"Kain, what's wrong? You're acting a little odd today," Spencer said, frowning worriedly.

Kain looked around and leaned down so close to Spencer's face that their noses were touching. "Listen, Spencer," he whispered, his hand still around the Emo Kid's wrist, "whatever you do, promise me that you won't let your guard down. There's someone here that could possibly kill you. I'm not trying to scare you or anything, but that teenager we saw earlier – "

"The brunette on the gate?"

"Yes. His name is Zeke, and he's done horrible things before, and I don't want you to get hurt. He'll do anything he can to get rid of you, and then he'll try to kill me off, too."

"But why?" Spencer asked, terrified. "Why's he so bent on getting rid of us?"

Kain sighed and released Spencer's wrist, looking down at the ground. "Well, you see, we've been enemies since we could remember. It started with our ancient ancestors, and unfortunately, the war is still probably going on between our races; that's probably why there are so few of us left..." He stared back up into Spencer's eyes, smiling mournfully. "You know that I'm a vampire, but what you might not know is that Zeke's a – "

There was a sudden blur of brown as Spencer yelped and stumbled, being carried off by none other than the brunette himself. Spencer struggled against Zeke's grip, but the brunette wouldn't let go of the screaming Emo Kid.

"Kain! Help me!" Spencer screamed, attempting to kick Zeke in the shin. "Help!"

"I'm coming, Spencer!" Kain chased after the Emo's captor, uncaring of people yelling insults at him when he bumped past them. "Hold on! I'll get you back! I promise!"

Zeke glanced over his shoulder and grinned maliciously, sticking out his tongue. He ran until he came to the House of Mirrors and dashed inside, winding his way through the reflections in order to get Kain lost.

Kain stopped just outside of the mirror house and swore under his breath, glaring at the entrance. "How the hell did he find us? How'd he know I'd be here, it's been too long for him to remember...Damn..." He sighed angrilly and ran into the House of Mirrors after Zeke, plotting unspeakable revenge against said teen once he got his hands on him. He looked around, slightly confused by all the reflections, and began walking, rushed, through the maze of mirrored reflections, keeping a level head, yet thinking up some of the worst thoughts a living being could possibly know.

Elsewhere in the maze, Zeke had Spencer's wrists tied behind his back, lying on the floor on his stomach. Said Emo teen glared up at the shaggy-haired brunette out of the corner of his eye, expecting him to untie him and let him go; of course, they both knew this wouldn't happen anytime soon.

"You know," Zeke said, leaning against a mirror and glancing down at the tied up Emo Kid, "it's no use trying to glare your way out of this. I'm not letting you go."

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

Zeke laughed darkly. "Simply because I can. Mine and Kain's races are struggling just to stay alive, and let's face it," he murmured, squating down to meet Spencer's eyes, "we both need fresh blood to keep the clan going."

Spencer stared at the brunette, confused and slightly afraid. "What do you mean, 'to keep the clan going'? I know Kain's a vampire, I can understand that, but you're..."

Zeke smiled ominously, reaching a hand out to touch the Emo Kid's hair. He gently rubbed Spencer's head, enjoying the strange look on his face, and sighed, taking his hand away. Instead, he slipped his hand under Spencer, palm up, and rolled him onto his back, still smiling the way he was. He watched Spencer struggle to push himself up, laughed to himself, and sat up on his knees over Spencer's body. He stared down at the surprised and somewhat blushing teen and quietly growled, trying to fight off his urge to make Spencer scream.

"Kain didn't tell you?" Zeke leaned down close and whispered in Spencer's ear, "I'm a werewolf. Isn't it obvious?"

Spencer gulped and stared at Zeke, afraid of making a wrong move or saying the wrong thing. "So what do you want with me?" he asked nervously.

The brunette teen smirked that oh-so-familiar smirk of his and stared into Spencer's eyes, peircing his very soul and sending shivers up his spine. "The same thing Kain wants; I want you, in every meaning of the word."


	5. Chapter 5

Spencer blushed and shifted uncomfortably. "Me...? I don't understand." He tried to untie his hands behind his back, but to no avail, the knot was too tight. He kept his eyes on Zeke, afraid of letting his guard down for a surprise attack, and wished desperately for Kain to find him and save him.

"It's simple, really," Zeke said. He ran one of his fingers down the side of Spencer's face, grinning at the Emo Kid's frightened expression, and let his eyes wander up and down Spencer's body. "We need you to keep our kinds alive. If not, we'll die out." He grinned wider when Spencer shifted again, finally looking away. "God...you're too innocent to leave alone. I bet Kain hasn't even deflowered you yet. Poor thing..."

"Hasn't what?" Spencer asked nervously, looking back up into Zeke's chocolate-brown eyes.

"You, know," Zeke murmured. He sat straddling Spencer and smiled perversely. "Deflowerd you. Made you his own. His lover."

"L-lover? I don't...he never...is he like that?"

"Of course he is. I've had first-hand experience only years ago. He can be quite...exciting."

Spencer blushed so hard that Zeke had to get off of him in fear of crushing the breath out of him. The Emo Kid blinked, registering the sentence over in his head, and heard distant footsteps. Were they running towards the spot where the Emo and the werewolf were? There were calls following the footsteps, a familiar voice, a worried tone...

"Spencer!"

It took Spencer a moment to realize who's voice was calling him, and gasped quietly, twisting his head to look back towards the area where the sounds were coming from. "Kain! I'm in here! Help!"

"I'm coming, Spencer!" Kain shouted. His footsteps grew louder, almost frantic in fact, as he wound his way through more mirrors, looking for the way to find the tied up Emo Kid and the werewolf. He finally reached the area where the two teens were and stared at the two of them, apparently asking for an explination as to what was going on.

"Kain! It's not – "

"I know, Spencer. I know," Kain said. The way he looked scared Spencer; he looked angry and slightly afraid, as if he wanted to punch Zeke but couldn't. His fists were clenched at his sides and he was glaring at Zeke venomously. "So, we meet again. How long has it been, Zeke?"

Zeke laughed ominously. "Too long, Kain, too long. I take it this is your new lover, huh?" he asked, glancing down at the blushing, struggling Emo Kid. "I must say, Kain, you sure know how to find the cute, innocent ones. He's so pure...if you hadn't have come to rescue him, I might've done something to him." The brunette pulled Spencer up and held him tightly by the rope around his wrists, smiling somewhat pervertedly.

"Zeke, if you do anything to Spencer at all, I will kill you. That's a promise."

The werewolf smirked and shoved Spencer against the nearest mirror, causing said teen to let out a small cry of pain. Zeke stared at Kain victoriously as Spencer tried to squirm out of the brunette's force, looking as if he were about to cry like a scared little kid. "Really? So you'll kill me if I do this...?" Zeke asked, bringing his body closer to Spencer's. Their hips were less than an inch apart, at which point Spencer began whimpering, staring at Kain with a look screaming 'HELP ME!!!' and blushing in spite of himself.

"Get away from him, Zeke," Kain whispered dangerously.

"Hmm...no, I don't think I will, Kain. Your little human friend here is much too innocent for you. I think I'll keep him for myself, teach him a few things..." He leaned close to the frightened Emo's face, smiling evilly. His breath was hot on Spencer's lips as he leaned closer, and as he was about to rest his mouth against Spencer's, Kain threw a wild punch and nailed Zeke right in the cheek, toppling all three of them to the floor.

"I warned you, Zeke! You give me no choice!" Kain shouted, launching another punch, this time getting the werewolf square in the chest. He sat on Zeke's stomach, immobilizing him for the moment, and glared down at the brunette with intense hatred. "Mess with Spencer, and you'll have to deal with me!"

Zeke tilted his head to the side as Kain's fist shot down towards it, cursing loudly as it barely missed his face. He quickly glanced from the vampire's hand back up to his face, and bit down hard on Kain's free hand, ignoring Kain's threats for if he didn't let go. He glared up at the vampire, teeth still sunken into his free fist, and took another blow to the head. He could feel blood rolling down the side of his face, but he didn't care; he wanted to cause Kain as much pain as possible by any means necissary, and vice-versa.

"Heh...remember four years ago in the eigth grade? We got into a fight in gym class..."

"And we were forced to stay after school for detention for an hour? Yeah...I remember." Kain pulled his arm back up and punched Zeke again, only a little less forceful than before. "We got in a lot of trouble that day...on more than one level..."

Zeke frowned. "You didn't enjoy what we went through that day? All the memories, the fun...the whimpers and cries of pain and – "

Kain sighed and got off of Zeke, turned to Spencer (who'd been sitting crouched in a corner), and picked him up and untied his hands. "Come on, Spencer. Let's go," he said.

Spencer stared into Kain's eyes as the vampire stared back, unsmiling. The Emo Kid glanced back at Zeke, who was getting up himself, frowning, and stared down at his feet. "Yeah, okay," he whispered. He laced his fingers with Kain's as the vampire led the way out, leaving Zeke behind, staring after them.

As the two teens left the House of Mirrors to go to another ride, Spencer couldn't help but wonder what Zeke meant by 'all the memories, all the fun...' He risked a glance up at Kain and caught his eye, still not smiling; in fact he looked a little upset. Spencer dropped his gaze once again to the ground, trying not to let Kain know that he wanted to ask something. Of course, Kain already knew.

"What's the matter, Spencer?" Kain asked. "Are you thinking about what Zeke said back there?"

"Well...kind of," Spencer replied, still staring down at the ground to avoid Kain's eyes. "What did he mean by all of that? What happened in the eigth grade?" He felt Kain squeeze his hand gently and heard him sigh.

"Spencer, back when we were younger, Zeke and I found out that our races were locked in an age-old war against each other. Normally we'd want nothing to do with each other, being enemies by blood and all, but we actually came to enjoy each other's company. In fact, we were friends," Kain explained, smiling almost sadly. "But then, one day when our families found out, they tried to keep us seperated from each other. They even told us nasty lies to make us hate the other. It worked, and when gym class rolled around, we got into a huge fight. We fought much like we did today; we were throwing each other down on the floor, punching, kicking, shouting insults...anything and everything known about fights, really. Zeke ended up tearing my shorts a little ways down the side, and I ripped his shirt up some. We were both forced to stay in the gym after school for an hour's worth of detention, and we had to sit in our floor spot across from each other."

Spencer smiled weakly, looking back up at the vampire. "Must have been tough not to attack him again, huh?"

Kain laughed. "Yeah, really tough. We just sat there for ten minutes, glaring at each other until the teacher left. I think he was called down to the office for some reason. Anyways, as soon as the teacher left, we jumped at each other in another fit of punches and kicks, as well as cursing. Heh, lots of cursing. Loud cursing. This went on for another twenty minutes, and when we were too tired to physically abuse each other, we settled on spitting insults at the other, glaring venomously. We ended up leaning against each other's back in spite of ourselves, too tired to move, and we did the strangest thing we ever thought we'd do around each other in a fight: we turned to each other and smiled, but not a friendly smile; a sort of dangerous smile, and somehow, it excited us. Made us feel...odd. Before we knew what was happening, we...well..." He coughed and looked down.

Spencer blinked and frowned slightly. "You...got caught...?"

Kain nodded. "We ended up sharing an innocent kiss, but that quickly turned into a full tongue war. Without realizing what I was doing, I dragged us both up and slammed Zeke into the wall, pinned his hands down at his sides, and...well, I think you get the idea." He looked at the silent Emo Kid and smiled in a depressed sort of way. "I'm sorry, Spencer. I should have explained it to you earlier."

"So, are you and Zeke still together?" Spencer asked, fearing that the answer would be yes.

"No. Not anymore."

Spencer stared at Kain in shock for a moment, the words still buzzing in his head, and smiled slightly. "Can I ask why?"

Kain was silent for a moment, and finally said, "We're just not right for each other. Besides, I really like you." He smiled at Spencer, a faint blush tinting his cheeks, and lightly kissed his forehead. "No matter what anyone else says, I'll be here for you, as a friend and...someone more."

Spencer blushed slightly and smiled. He stopped walking, gently grasped Kain's free hand, and kissed him, letting his eyes slowly close. He could feel Kain kissing back, smiling faintly. They knew people were staring at them, but they didn't care; they were happy. And they were in love.

"Come on," Kain said as they broke their kiss, "let's go ride the ferris wheel together. We can be alone." He smiled when Spencer blushed somewhat deeper and nodded, and led the way to the front of the carnival, still ignoring peoples' odd stares.

When they finally reached the front of the carnival, Kain wrapped an arm around Spencer's shoulders and gave him another small kiss before walking up to the ride and getting in one of the compartments. The two teens sat down next to each other, smiling, and felt the ride pull them upwards, allowing other people to get on. Spencer scooted closer into Kain's touch, resting his head on the vampire's shoulder, while Kain laid his head on Spencer's, hugging the Emo closer. The ride soon started up, and the vampire and the Emo Kid sat staring out at the world, oblivious to everything but each other's presense.

"Hey, Kain?"

"Yes, Spencer?"

Spencer looked up into Kain's eyes, blushing dusty pink. "I'm so glad we met," he whispered, wrapping his arms around the vampire's stomach. "Thank you...for everything."

Kain smiled and gently kissed Spencer, feeling the younger of the two blush a bit deeper. "I am too, Spencer...I'm here for you, no matter what. And I always will be. I promise"

The ride lasted another few minutes, the two teens holding one another close and kissing, and when it finally came to a stop, the vampire and the Emo got off, smiling faintly at each other.

Spencer yawned quietly, raising a hand to his mouth to try and stifle it. He blinked and rested his head against Kain's shoulder for a brief moment before smiling up at him sleepily.

Chuckling, Kain asked softly, "Tired?"

Spencer nodded. "Just a little, yeah." He looked up at the darkening sky almost sadly before looking back at the older teen, hugging him again.

Kain smiled and wrapped his arm around the Emo Kid's shoulders, giving him a hug back. "You don't want to go back yet, do you?" he asked, smiling slightly wider when the younger teen shook his head tiredly.

"Can we stay a bit longer? Please?"

"Of course."

Spencer and Kain walked around the carnival, going on various rides and taking stops every so often to get a drink or snack. After about another half hour, Spencer was practically asleep, leaning on the vampire's chest while they sat on a bench. Kain didn't mind though; he stroked Spencer's hair, occasionally twirling his hair in his fingers with an amused and loving smile on his face.

"Hey Spencer...?"

"Unh...huh...yeah, Kain...?" Spencer asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Kain kissed Spencer's forehead. "It's time to go. I'll walk you home."

"Mmn...okay."

The two teens got to their feet, Spencer nearly tripping over his own foot, and began walking towards the entrance of the carnival once again to walk back to Spencer's house. They were both tired, but happy that they had the chance to spend the day together. Spencer yawned and rubbed his eyes again and glanced up at Kain, smiling tiredly. Kain smiled down at Spencer and pulled him close as they walked down the street, drowsily talking and laughing.

When they finally got home, Spencer knocked on the door, not really caring if his parents answered it or not. He knocked again; no answer. And again, no sign of life beyond the door that the two teens could hear. Spencer fumbled his hand around in the mailbox, knocking against the side of it every so often, and finally managed to find the key to the front door. He pushed the key through the key hole, turned it, pushed the door open, and let Kain into the living room. Noticing that no one was there, Spencer looked around, walked up to the TV area, and found a note on the table:

_We'll be gone all night._

"Well, it looks like the parents are gone," Spencer yawned. "Do you want to spend the night? Is it okay with your mom and dad? You can call them if you – "

"It's okay, they don't really mind. I'd love to spend the night, Spencer. Thanks."

"Are you sure?"

Kain smiled and wrapped his arms around the Emo Kid's chest from behind. "Positive," he whispered.

Spencer smiled drowsily and leaned into Kain's touch, closing his eyes. "Alright, then. Come on, we can sleep in my room if you want."

"That sound good to me," Kain murmured. He let go of Spencer as they walked through the room and up the stairs to the Emo's bedroom, all the while trying not to fall asleep right on the steps.

When they finally reached the familiar surroundings of Spencer's room, they both stopped dead in their tracks; Zeke was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, apparently waiting for them.

"Z-Zeke?" Spencer said, choking on fear and surprise. "What – what are you doing in my room?"

"I caught your parents before they left. I told them I was a friend of yours – "

"Define friend," Kain interjected coldly.

" – and that I needed to talk to you. They just told me to wait for you upstairs in your room. They didn't seem to like it when I said I was a friend of yours..."

"Yeah, well...they get like that when they hear that I've got people who know me and care," Spencer said, rubbing his eyes again. "Can I ask why you're here so late?"

Zeke sighed and sat up on Spencer's bed, now facing the vampire and the Emo. "I just wanted to apologize from earlier. I didn't mean to cause all that, I didn't know exactly what I was thinking...I guess it must have been an after-effect from the full moon last night. You know what I'm talking about, right Kain?"

"Actually, yes. I do know what you're talking about, but I know how to control my actions a bit better."

"But all in all, we forgive you. Right, Kain?" Spencer asked, looking up at the orange-haired vampire.

"...Yeah, we forgive you," Kain said, smiling at the brunette werewolf.

Zeke smiled happily and closed his eyes. "Thank you both," he whispered. He opened his eyes and smiled slightly wider and stood up. Walking over to the two teens, he yawned and gave them the thumbs-up before walking over to the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" Spencer and Kain asked in unison.

"I don't want to intrude," Zeke replied, his hand on the doorknob, "so I'll head home."

Spencer thought for a brief minute and said, "You can stay the night if you want. You just have to call your parents and ask if it's all right."

Zeke was silent for a long time, his hand still gripping the doorknob. He slowly turned to face the vampire and the Emo Kid, and smiled sadly. "My parents are dead. Died in a fight."

Spencer was shocked into silence as he stared at the sadly-smiling werewolf. "Oh, man...I'm sorry, Zeke..."

"Yeah, sorry about your parents..."

Zeke chuckled in a depressed sort of way, shaking his head. "It's alright, don't be. After all, it's neither of your guys' fault it happened. You know what happens when people can't get along...it's a pack thing." He sighed and swore under his breath, looking down at the floor.

Kain frowned and walked over to Zeke, seized him by the arm, and dragged him back over to the bed. He pushed down firmly on his shoulders, sitting him down and causing him to blush slightly. When the werewolf looked up at him questioningly, Kain glared down at him.

"Zeke," he murmured, his hands still on the brunette's shoulders, "promise me you'll stay here here with us. Just for tonight, at least." His glare made Zeke flinch, his grip tightening uncomfortably on the werewolf's shoulders.

The brunette hesitated, letting his gaze slide over to the closest wall, and nodded, forcing a small smile on his face when Kain blinked, a ghost of a smile lighting his own face. "Alright. I'll stay," he whispered.

Kain's expression softened and he sat down on the bed next to Zeke, smiling. Spencer joined them, sitting on Zeke's other side, and wrapped an arm around the werewolf's shoulders, smiling. The two teens sat hugging the werewolf for what seemed like forever until everyone yawned at the exact same time. They all looked at each other and started laughing.

"We should probably hit the hay soon, huh guys?" Zeke asked, laughing.

"Yeah, really," Kain replied, yawning and laughing. "It's nearly midnight, isn't it?"

"Why, I do believe you're right, Kain," Spencer said, glancing at the alarm clock on his bedside table. He stood up and walked over to his closet, picked out a few pairs of pajamas, and walked back over to the bed. Handing two pairs of nightclothes to the vampire and the werewolf, he turned walked over to a corner, and began to change.

Kain and Zeke changed where they were; they were too tired to hardly move. They glanced at each other when they had their pajamas on and smiled tiredly, turned to look at Spencer as he approached the two of them, and crawled into his bed.

"You guys stole my bed," Spencer said, smiling amusedly.

"We left you some room," Zeke said sleepily, pointing at the middle of the bed. "You can sleep here."

"Between two older boys? In the very same bed?"

"Yep." Kain chuckled when Spencer began to blush and sat up, grabbed the Emo Kid by the wrist, and pulled him into bed between Zeke and himself. "You'll be safest here."

"From what?" Spencer yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"The cold," the vampire and the werewolf replied together.

Spencer cracked a smile and rolled his eyes, but crawled under the blankets beside the two older teens. He snuggled into the blankets and closed his eyes. Before he fell into a restful sleep, he felt both older teens lean close to him and lightly kiss his cheeks, which made the Emo Kid blush and smile slightly. After that, there was a steady fall of black...


	6. Chapter 6

Spencer opened his eyes, yawning. Something had woken him up, but he couldn't remember what it was. Shrugging it off, he turned over onto his side, determined to go back to sleep, and noticed that Kain was gone. He sat bolt upright in bed and glanced over at where Zeke was, but he was gone, too. Spencer remembered that they were sleeping next to him earlier, but...

'_Calm down, Spencer. They're just up to go to the bathroom,' _the Emo Kid mentally told himself. _'Nothing more. They're still here.'_

Mildly panicking, the Emo Kid got out of bed and walked over to the bedroom door, peered around the edge, but found no one. He decided to walk down to the bathroom to see if either of them were in there; the bathroom was empty when he got there. No sign of either the shocking-orange-haired vampire or the brunette-haired werewolf in sight.

'_Where did they go…?'_

Spencer sighed and stared up at the ceiling, hoping for a sign of where the older teens went to. As if on cue, the Emo heard a thud coming from downstairs, so he decided to investigate. He raced down the stairs, ran through the living room, and came to a stop in the kitchen. Staring around into the darkness, the Emo Kid fumbled around for the lightswitch, but he soon abandoned the worry of finding a light; the cresent moon's light shone through the window, illuminating a scene that made Spencer wish he'd died without anyone's concern.

There, lying on their backs on the floor, were Kain and Zeke, staring up at the ceiling with an unfocused look in their eyes. They were lying in a pool of liquid that shone brightly in the moon's light. It smelled odd – almost metalic, in fact.

Spencer walked slowly towards them, never taking his gaze away from them. He stood above them, tears forming in his eyes, and fell to his knees in the pool of metalic-smelling liquid. Raising his hands up and staring at them panic-striken, he realized that what he was sitting in was a pool of blood, provided by the vampire and the werewolf. The Emo Kid stared back down at Kain and Zeke silently. Tears were rapidly rolling down his cheeks, his mind racing, his heart pounding wildly. Without warning, he clenched his fists and threw himself down on the two older teens, sobbing loudly and uncontrolably.

"Kain! Zeke! Wake up! Please!" Spencer sobbed, "Wake up! Wake up!"

Spencer pounded his fists against the two teens, as if trying to hit them awake, and sobbed louder. He shook his head, trying desperately to make the truth disappear. He didn't believe it; he wouldn't believe it.

"Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!!!"

"They won't wake up...I'm sorry..."

Spencer jerked his head up, looking around for whoever said that. He heard the faint shuffling of bare feet on a wooden kitchen floor and saw the shadowy outline of someone new.

"What do you mean, 'they won't wake up?' They...they aren't...?"

The newcomer remained motionless. Spencer had a sudden urge to hit them hard and say that this was all a joke; that Kain and Zeke were still alive, just playing dead.

Spencer stayed where he was, however, and stared at the new person. Tears were still flowing from his eyes, like the river he threw himself into (and Kain rescued him from drowning in), and he wished that none of this was happening. He wished he'd never met Kain, never got kidnapped by Zeke, never been born at all. He just wanted to...

"I'm sorry," the shadow person said again. Spencer could see its head hang slightly, and it took a step foreward, illuminating a hand eerily white as the moonlight. "There's nothing you can do. They're – "

"DON'T SAY IT!" Spencer sobbed, gently pounding on Kain and Zeke's cold, bloodstained bodies. "THEY'RE NOT!"

"...Dead...yes, I'm afraid they are. I'm sorry..." The newcomer stepped out of the shadows, revealing their identity at last. It was a teenage boy, who looked as if he couldn't have been older than fifteen, with long blonde hair tied back in a braid, and sky-blue eyes. Truthfully, he looked a bit feminine. "They're dead, both of them."

"NO! YOU'RE LYING! THEY'RE NOT D-DEAD! THEY'RE NOT!"

"Spencer...?" The Emo Kid opened his eyes, sunlight pouring in from the open window, and saw both Kain and Zeke leaning over him from either side, looking worried. "Are you okay, Spencer?"

Spencer stared up at the older teens for a minute, trying hard not to cry, and nodded after what seemed like forever. "Are...are you two...alright...?"

Kain and Zeke exchanged a concerned look and both of them said, "Yeah. Why?"

"I-I had this really weird dream...it was the middle of the night, you two were downstairs, I found you lying in...lying in a huge pool of b-blood, and...and..." Spencer's voice trailed off, leaving him in a state of depression much like in his dream. He sat up between the vampire and the werewolf and stared down at the bed's blanket, tears close to escaping his eyes. He didn't know why he had that dream, but he didn't care; he just wanted to make sure his friends were okay.

"Spencer," Kain murmured, wrapping his arms around the younger teen soothingly, "I don't know what all you saw, but you have to remember, it was just a dream. We're alright, really. Nothing's going to happen to any of us. Okay?"

"Yeah, Spencer," Zeke whispered, resting his chin on the Emo's shoulder, "Don't worry. We're okay, and we don't die off that easily, you know. We're not regular humans, we have very odd rules for people to try and kill us. It's not exactly simple, right Kain?"

"Too true, Zeke. There are only so many known ways to kill a vampire and a werewolf, and most people don't believe that we exist."

Spencer continued to stare down at the blanket, thinking their words over. Finally he smiled and laughed softly, realizing how blind he was to those important points of killing Kain and Zeke. No one he knew could kill them, and he was sure that the blonde boy in his dreams didn't exist. It was just a dream, after all.

"Yeah...yeah, you guys are right," the Emo Kid said, smiling at the two older teens. "There's no way you two can...can die off so easily. I was stupid to think that."

Kain and Zeke grinned at each other, grabbed one of Spencer's wrists, and gently pushed him back onto the bed, making the Emo blush slightly. They had him pinned down to the bed, with his head on the pillows, and gave him a mischeivious grin that clearly said, 'We're going to play with you, like it or not.'

"Wha – what are you two...doing?" Spencer asked, trying to break free of the teens' grip.

"What are we doing?" Zeke echoed, staring down at the somewhat blushing Emo teen.

"We're going to play around, of course," Kain said, leaning closer to Spencer's face. "And then we'll go somewhere, and try to further seduce our little Emo lover into bed tonight. Sound good?" Kain winked, which succeeded in making Spencer blush a bit harder.

"Seduce me...? You mean...you don't...?"

Kain grinned wider, Zeke grinning wider as well, and kissed Spencer's forehead. "Maybe. Hehe, you're blushing, Spencer."

"I-I know I am. You would, too, if someone said they were going to seduce you!" Spencer said, feeling his cheeks burning up.

"That's true," Zeke muttered.

"Hmm...I do suppose you have a point there," Kain said, chuckling. "Tell you what: we'll take turns, all three of us. We'll have a threesome."

Spencer's face burned terribly from blushing too hard, but he couldn't help it. He squirmed beneath the two teens, struggling to break free, but it was no use; the more he tried to ignore the older teens' smiles, the more mental images kept popping up in his head. He turned his head to the side, as if to hide from the other teens and try to get his mind cooled down from all the images he'd been bombarded with.

"Haha, look what you did, Kain," Zeke said, laughing. "You're going to give the poor kid nightmares."

"Look who's talking, mister 'I'm-gonna-take-you-right-here-right-now.'" Kain retorted, smiling amusedly. "Don't think I didn't know what you were planning back there. Gym class, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

Suddenly Spencer's mom burst through the door, probably there to wake him up with her usual insults and yelling, and stopped abruptly, staring at the three teens on the bed.

"What the hell is going on here?" she demanded, staring now at Spencer.

"Nothing," Spencer lied.

"Get your ass downstairs and take Suzy to her friend's house, fag." Spencer's mom turned on her heel and walked down the stairs, muttering loudly for Spencer to hear.

"We're sorry, Spencer," Kain and Zeke whispered softly. "We didn't mean for – "

"Don't worry about it," Spencer said, smiling slightly. "My parents always find new things to insult me about, even if they have to make stuff up. They're worse than death, I swear!"

The vampire and the werewolf laughed nervously and let go of the Emo Kid's wrists, finally freeing him. Together, all three of them found their clothes from yesterday and hastily changed, not having time to strike a conversation about boxers and naked torsos. Once they were dressed, the three of them filed out of Spencer's room, walked down the stairs, and opened the front door to the yard.

Before Spencer could even get his foot out the door, he was tackled to the ground, seeing nothing but a soft red blur before he landed painfully on the ground. He groaned in pain and glanced up, registering that the tufty red pigtail visible just below his chin was his younger sister, Suzy.

"Hiya, Big Brother! Gonna take me to Emily's house?" she asked.

"As soon as you get off of me," Spencer joked, hugging his little sister.

Suzy giggled and let go of her older brother, smiling childishly. She was only eight years old, but she was already dressing like a rebelious teenager; she was wearing a red plaid pleated skirt, a black fishnet shirt over a white tanktop, a black Greenday wristband, and knee-high combat boots.

"I didn't know you had a little sister, Spencer," Kain said, looking down at the Emo Kid.

"Yeah," Spencer replied, getting to his feet. "Kain, Zeke, I'd like you both to meet my little sister, Suzy. Suzy, these are my friends Kain and Zeke."

Suzy stared at the vampire and the werewolf, as if suddenly noticing they were there, and smiled, blushing slightly pink. "It's nice to meet you both!"

"It's nice to meet you, too, Suzy," Kain and Zeke replied together.

"Hehe! Come on, Big Brother! To Emily's house we go!"

As the four of them walked to Emily's house, Spencer began to feel strange. He felt as if he were being followed by someone unknown. Looking around, he felt someone's hands on his shoulders and flinched, not daring to move his head.

"Hey, Spencer..." Kain stared uncertainly at the nervous Emo Kid. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Zeke added, "you're acting a little odd. What's up?"

Spencer shook his head, still glancing around. "Nothing. I'm fine, really." He blinked and looked at the two older teens and smiled.

Kain and Zeke smiled back and glanced at each other doubtfully. They had a feeling that their little Emo Kid was still a bit scared from his nightmare, but they wouldn't let Spencer know that. They both reached down and laced their fingers with his, encircling them in a hand-holding walk down the street. They didn't really mind when Suzy looked back over her shoulder and gave them a funny look.

"Why are you three holding hands? Are you involved in a bizzare love triangle, Big Brother?"

"Wha – ? No, I'm n-not!" Spencer said, blushing. "These guys are my best friends!"

Suzy blinked and cracked a small, mischeivious grin. "Really, now?" she asked.

"Y-yeah, really!" Spencer's pink-tinted cheeks seemed to be telling his little sister otherwise. Seeing his sister's grin grow wider, he added, "Guys can hold hands too; it's not just for girls!"

"It's okay, Big Brother," Suzy said, "I don't mind if you are...well, you know." She smiled and hugged Spencer. "I love you all the same!"

"Aww, that's so sweet," Kain murmured, smiling.

"Such a kind-hearted little sister," Zeke said, smiling as well.

"Yeah, nothing like our parents," Spencer muttered, grimacing. "I'm glad you're my little sister, Suzy. You're a lot nicer than our so-called 'Mom and Dad' and a lot nicer than most kids your age."

Suzy smiled wider and turned slightly pink in the face. "Aww, thanks! I'm glad you're my big brother, Spencer! You know what I have to deal with growing up, or at least some of it!"

Spencer smiled and hugged his little sister back. "Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea, Suzy. No problem."

Suzy smiled again and hugged Spencer tighter. "You have to meet Emily's brother, you're just like him. Well, except that you dress in a lot more dark clothes, you have black-and-red hair, and...well you get the idea," she said, giggling. "You two would get along great!"

"Maybe," Spencer replied, smiling a little.

"Alright, then! Let's go!" Suzy cheered, pointing down the street.

When they finally reached Emily's house, Spencer gave his little sister a quick hug goodbye before he and Kain and Zeke walked back in the opposite direction, debating on what they should do for the day. So far, they were down to going to the beach, catching a movie, or going to the mall.

"Let's face it: it's the last day summer. I say we hit the beach before school starts," Zeke said.

"Yeah, but chances are, we're going to get so much homework this year, we're not going to have a chance to go to the theater to see a movie," Kain argued.

"Well, we do need school clothes, don't we?" Spencer half-whispered, his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, he's got a point," Kain commented.

"Mm-hmm," Zeke replied.

"We can do something else if you guys want to," Spencer said, looking at them in slight surprise. "I mean, well, we don't have to get new school clothes right now. It can wait until another day."

"Yeah, but there's something at Hot Topic that I really want to get," Kain said, smiling and wrapping an arm around the Emo Kid's waist. "Plus, I've been wanting to check out your store."

"Ditto," Zeke said as he put his arm around Spencer's shoulders.

"It's not my store, and you guys know it," Spencer muttered, smiling. "I was named after the store, or so I'd like to believe. Had my parents known there was a 'weird' store with my name, they would have named me something different...something 'normal.'"

The vampire and the werewolf exchanged smiles and, without warning, lifted Spencer up onto their shoulders, forcing him to let them give him a kind of piggy-back ride. The surprised Emo let out an indignant squeak and blushed in spite of himself, and finally settled on looking up at the sky, trying hard to ignore the older teens' grins. It wasn't working too well, and more often than not, Spencer felt at least three or four pairs of eyes on the three of them as Kain and Zeke gave Spencer a ride to the mall on their shoulders.

They reached the mall after what seemed like half an hour, and already the three of them were planning on which stores to hit first. They agreed to drop by Spencer's first, and then stop in and blow the rest of their money at Hot Topic. Luckily for them, it was possible they'd get a discount at HT that day, Kain told them, but he wouldn't say why. He'd always just grin and say, "You'll see."

"I wonder if they still have those chokers in here..." Spencer wondered aloud. He started walking around, Kain and Zeke following close behind, and stopped at a section that sold earrings, wallets, necklaces, and wallet chains. He looked around at the different items, trying to find the choker he wanted, and shook his head in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Kain asked.

"They don't have it anymore," Spencer replied, frowning. "Hmm..."

Zeke thought for a moment, and grinned mischeiviously. "Hey, don't worry, Spencer," he said cheerfully. "They've got something else I think you'll like. Follow me."

Spencer and Kain followed as Zeke led the way past the ties, past the hats, past the t-shirts, farther and farther into the back of the store until...

"Here you go, Spencer!" Zeke said, gesturing towards a group of bedroom toys.

The shocked and embarrassed Emo Kid could feel his face burn painfully as he stared at Zeke and the toys, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. He was too shocked to say anything, and he let out a tortured groan as very suggestive, very graphic mental images flooded his mind, causing him to have to run back and lean against the entrance just to cool off. People were staring at him both within the store and outside the store, but he didn't care; they didn't have to know what he was freaking out about.

Zeke came back to the front of the store, laughing so hard that he had to hold his sides from the pain in his ribs, and took one look at Spencer, and fell down on his knees, laughing even harder. "Oh God, Spencer!" he laughed, "you should have seen your face back there! You looked like you were about to pass out! Oh man! Priceless!"

"Shut up, Zeke!" Spencer shouted embarrassedly. "You know perfectly well that I'm too young to see that kind of stuff!"

"Well, that is somewhat true," Kain said as he joined the group. He was trying to force back his laughter, although an amused grin was still plastered to his face. "But you are getting to that age, you know. Zeke and I are nearly old enough to start thinking about it."

"Yeah," Zeke added, getting up. "I'm already sixteen, and Kain here is seventeen. You're not too far behind."

"I'm only fourteen," Spencer mumbled, still blushing. "I can't...use toys yet..."

"Who says you have to only use toys?" Zeke murmured, giving Spencer the most seductive smirk he's ever seen. He grabbed the Emo Kid's wrists and pushed him against the entrance wall, uncaring of peoples' shocked and slightly disgusted looks. "You can use...other things, and you'll get a more satisfying result."

Spencer blushed as hard as he did earlier, and shut his eyes tight, trying to keep the mental images from coming back. It wasn't working too well; he could still see Zeke, Kain, and himself, all of them in the Emo's bedroom, screaming and crying out and...

"Aahhhhnn~"

"Heh, poor Spencer," Kain said, grinning. "Come on, Zeke, cut it out. You're going to give him nightmares."

"Oh, alright." Zeke let go of Spencer's wrists and laughed when the Emo Kid wobbled and slid down to the floor. He and Kain pulled him up to his feet and laid him against the entrance wall again, making sure he didn't slip.

"Haha, are you going to be okay, Spencer?" Zeke asked.

The Emo Kid nodded, his head still spinning from the images his brain conjured up, and blinked a few times, further clearing his mind. "Y-yeah...I'm fine."

"That's good," Kain murmured. He pulled Spencer into his arms and gave him a hug, and less than a second into the embrace, Zeke joined in, toppling all three of them to the floor.

"I'll be right back. I have to go get something," Zeke said. He got up, leaving the Emo and the vampire on the floor, still smiling and hugging, and ran off into the store. He came back minutes later, carrying a small bag and smiling.

Spencer stared at the werewolf worriedly. "I'm almost afraid to ask...what did you buy?"

Zeke laughed and waved one of his hands at Spencer, urging him to calm down. "It's nothing, I just bought some lotion."

"Lotion?"

"Yes, lotion. I don't like my hands being too dry; I get papercuts easily that way."

"I'm borrowing some of that, then," Kain said. He pulled Spencer and himself up off of the floor and stretched. He smiled and threw his arms around Spencer and Zeke, and asked, "Is there anything else we need from in here? Besides nightmares and nosebleeds?"

Zeke laughed and shook his head. "Haha, nope."

"Not really," Spencer said, smiling.

"Alright, then. Let's go to Hot Topic. I think you'll like my surprise."


	7. Chapter 7

Spencer and Zeke followed as Kain led the way through the mall, winding their way through passers-by and around mini-shops. Every now and then, Kain would stop and look around for a moment before resuming his search for Hot Topic, and their possible surprise. The three of them passed by a group of Preppy girls without even saying hello; they just rushed by as fast as possible, with Spencer nearly knocking over the youngest girl in the group. He tried to turn back and apologize, but the vampire and the werewolf grabbed him around the arms and urged him to keep going.

"It should be around here somewhere...oh, here it is!" Kain said happily as they approached the entrance of Hot Topic. "I wonder..."

"I haven't been here in such a long time," Spencer said almost sadly, looking around the store. He walked over to one of the isles and looked at the clothes, smiling. "Not much has changed, thank goodness."

"Yeah," Zeke said. He was busy looking at some of the t-shirt designs posted on the wall.

Kain smiled at the Emo and the werewolf and made his way up to the counter, a determined look on his face. "Excuse me," he said to the guy behind the counter, "is Thorne here?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Could you tell her that she's got company today? I want to see her," he said, smiling. When the worker behind the counter gave him an odd look, he quickly added, "It'll only take a second, I promise!"

"Okay, I'll go get her." The guy behind the counter walked away into the back room, and minutes later, a girl walked out, followed by what seemed to be a heated argument. She took one look at Kain and ran up and gave him a bone-crushing hug, lifting said vampire off his feet.

"Hey there, Kain!" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see you, Thorne!" Kain said, suffocating. "Can you please put me down? I can't breathe."

"Oh, right! Sorry!" She set the airless vampire down, smiling apologetically, and glanced at Spencer and Zeke. "Your friends?"

Kain nodded and motioned for the other two teens to join him. When the other two were next to him, he said, "Spencer, Zeke, I'd like you both to meet Thorne. Thorne, these are my two best friends, Spencer and Zeke."

Thorne smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you both," she said politely.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Spencer replied, smiling.

"Pleased to meet you," Zeke said.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you two know each other so well?" Spencer asked, looking from Kain to Thorne.

Thorne and Kain exchanged smiles and then Thorne cleared her throat quietly. She grabbed Kain around the neck and rubbed his hair with her knuckles, laughing when he kicked his feet in protest.

"It's simple, really; we're brother and sister!" Thorne announced cheerfully.

Spencer stared at her as if he'd seen a huge spider crawl across her face, and looked back at Kain with a look clearly saying, 'You've got to be kidding me!'

"Yep, it's true," Kain said, having finally been released from his sister's strangle hold. "We're siblings. She's my older sister, but we don't really look related, do we?"

"Not really," Zeke replied, shrugging. "I mean, I could see you both being cousins or something, with the wild hair and everything, but not brother and sister..." He smiled and shrugged again, trying to prove his point. "You know what I mean, don't you?"

"Yeah, I get you," Spencer said, glancing at Zeke. "They do look they'd be in the same family, for sure. But as Kain's sister," he explained, turning back to Thorne, "I'd have thought you'd have the same bright orange hair. Do you both dye your hair?"

"Yep, I dye it every so often," Thorne said, nodding. She gently tugged at one of her own deep-purple-and-lime-green pigtails, smiling. Her hair greatly complemented her pale green eyes.

"Not me; my hair color is natural." Kain flipped his hair back and laughed. He studied the looks on Spencer and Zeke's faces amusedly, and shrugged.

"I didn't think shocking-orange was a natural hair color," Spencer admitted. "I thought you'd dyed it."

Zeke nodded in agreement. "Same here."

"Nope. Not me."

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," Thorne said, "but it looks like I've got more work to do. It's been great meeting you guys. Catch you later." And with that, she drifted off to greet customers and help them out with something they might need.

Kain, Zeke, and Spencer smiled at one another before almost reluctantly departing into different sections of the store, looking for what they needed. Kain took the pants section, Zeke took the shirt section, and Spencer took the back section, where the skirts and accessories were.

'_Hmm...I don't need any more hair dye for a while,'_ Spencer thought, examining his hair in the closest mirror. _'Should I get something for Suzy? She's going to want something, and we never do come here much anymore…' _

"Can I help you with something, Spencer?" Thorne asked, walking up to the now startled Emo Kid.

"No thanks," Spencer replied. "I was just looking for a skirt or some barrettes for – "

"You cross-dress?" Thorne whispered, grinning.

"What? No! I don't!"

Thorne's grin grew wider as Spencer fumbled for the right words to say, blushing as his every word came out the wrong way, and she chuckled. She put her hand on the Emo Kid's shoulder and smiled reassuringly, gently patting Spencer's shoulder.

"It's okay," she whispered sweetly. "A lot of people cross-dress. I even cross-dress sometimes. You don't have to be embarrassed and deny it. In fact," – she quickly glanced around – "Kain likes it when people do that, especially boys."

Spencer blushed and blinked. "Is he Bisexual, or...?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure," Thorne replied, shrugging. "Although he told me he does take an interest in boys. You two would make a really cute couple, you know!"

The blushing Emo was about to say something when he saw Kain and Zeke walking his way, so he quickly shut his mouth and resumed his search for a skirt.

"Hey, Sis?"

"Hm?"

"Do we get a discount today?"

Thorne eyed the vampire and the werewolf, seeing how many things they bought, and smiled, nodding. "Yeah, you guys can get a discount. It's a good thing, too," she said, laughing. "If I weren't working today, you'd have to pay out the wazoo."

"Last time I checked, that wasn't a very pleasant place to pay out of," Zeke joked.

Kain glanced at Spencer, silently observing him, and smiled nervously. "Is something wrong, Spencer? You haven't said anything so far. What's up?"

Spencer shook his head, and felt Kain and Zeke staring at him. "I'm fine, really," he insisted, looking up. "I'm just looking for some stuff. That's all."

"Are you sure?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Spencer looked at the skirts for another brief moment before finally picking out a black tattered skirt, turned and walked to the wall, and picked out hair ties and barrettes. He quickly ran over to a shelf and picked up a pair of black-and-white striped thigh-high socks and some fishnet ones, and ran back over to his friends, smiling a little.

"Is that for you or your sister?" Zeke asked, smiling.

"Who do you think?" Spencer shot back playfully. "I don't know, I might try them on...j-just to see that they fit Suzy!"

Kain, Zeke, and Thorne smiled amusedly, and the three of them surrounded Spencer in a group hug, making said teen blush and laugh a little.

"Well, is that all you're getting?" Thorne asked Spencer.

"Uh...yeah, for right now, I guess."

"You sure?"

Spencer thought for a moment and picked out a few more skirts and tops and thigh-highs, blushing when he felt their eyes on him curiously, and nodded, looking down at the clothes he picked up. "Yeah, now I'm sure..."

Thorne smiled sweetly and led them to the counter, scanned their clothes, and put them in separate bags; one bag full of the clothes each of them bought for themselves.

Kain paid for his clothes, Zeke paid for his, and so did Spencer. "Thanks Thorne," they all chimed together, smiling.

"No problem, guys!" Thorne said happily. "See you around!"

The three teens walked out of Hot Topic, talking excitedly and looking at each other's clothes. They were deciding what to do next; either go to the beach or catch a movie. They were all sharing their ideas and opinions, laughing when someone cracked a joke. Kain and Zeke were play fighting, and Spencer was about to comment, when he saw a boy with blonde hair sitting on one of the walls around a group of flowers – the same boy from his dream. He looked Spencer's way and his eyes widened a little, but he didn't move; he simply sat there, staring at Spencer, Zeke, and Kain.

"Spencer? What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing!" Spencer looked up, startled, at the vampire and the werewolf. "I just...thought I saw someone...familiar." He looked back at where the blonde boy was sitting, and he was still there, staring at the three of them with a frightened look on his face.

Kain followed Spencer's gaze and spotted the blonde teen, and thought. He smiled and nudged Zeke, silently telling him to look at the teen up ahead. "Any idea who that is?"

"Nope," Zeke said, shrugging.

"Me either. What about you, Spencer?"

"From my dream..."

"Huh?" Kain and Zeke asked, confused.

"I saw him in my dream last night," Spencer explained. "Well, it was more like a nightmare, actually. I saw him in the kitchen in my dream, and you two were there, only you were both...dead..."

"So it was just you and him?"

"Yeah..."

"What happened?" Zeke asked.

"He tried explaining to me that you two really were...gone," Spencer said, blinking away threatening tears. "I wouldn't listen, he came out of the shadows so I could see what he looked like, and...that's when I woke up."

Kain and Zeke exchanged a worried look and put their arms around the Emo Kid's shoulders, trying to comfort him. They smiled at Spencer and bent their heads down and kissed him lightly on his cheeks. The Emo blushed and smiled a little, and looked back at where the blonde boy was sitting, who was by this time trying to look away at something else. The three teens could have sworn they saw a faint pink tint on his cheeks.

"Well, he may be from your nightmare, Spencer, but we could at least go say hello," Kain said, smiling at the blonde teen.

"Yeah, he looks terribly lonely," Zeke added.

Spencer stared at the blonde and nodded in agreement. "Alright."

As the three of them began walking towards the blonde, Spencer had a feeling that the blonde teen would recognize them and try to attack Kain and Zeke. Spencer shook his thoughts away and continued to approach him with the vampire and the werewolf following at his heels.

"Hey there," Spencer said. "My name's Spencer, what's – "

Before Spencer could ask his name, the blonde teen jumped up from where he was sitting and ran from them, a scared look on his face. Spencer, Kain, and Zeke watched as he ran into the same group of Preppy girls as they did earlier, and the blonde took off again, not bothering to say sorry. He kept running, never looking back, and turned a corner, running out of the teens' sights.

'_Why'd he run away from us like that?'_

"Huh...well, I guess we scared him somehow," Kain said, scratching his head.

"How?" Zeke asked, confused.

"I don't know, but we did somehow."

"I feel kind of bad now," Spencer admitted. "I hope he's going to be alright..."

Kain kissed Spencer again lightly on the cheek, as did Zeke. "It'll be okay. We'll probably see him at school sometime."

"Yeah," Spencer replied.

Zeke smiled comfortingly and said, "Cheer up, Spencer. I'm sure next time we see him, he won't run away."

"Come on. Let's go back to Spencer's house to drop off our clothes, and we'll figure out what to do from there," Kain said.

…**Back At Spencer's House…**

"So, where are we going to go?" Zeke asked.

"How about the beach?" Kain suggested.

"But I thought you wanted to catch a movie in the theaters?"

"I'm sure we can make time someday soon."

Spencer stared down at the floor, thinking about the blonde teen in the mall. Why did he run from them like that? Why was he so scared? Why? He continued to think, even after the two older teens sat down beside him and stared at him, slight worry written on their faces.

"Spencer...?" Kain put his hand on the Emo Kid's shoulder, bringing said teen back to reality. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"You're still thinking about that boy, aren't you?" Zeke asked.

"A little..."

Kain wrapped his arm around Spencer's shoulders, giving him a comforting hug. "He'll be okay, Spencer." He kissed the Emo and laid his head on Spencer's, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah," Zeke said, wrapping his arms around Spencer's chest. "Just try not to think about it too much, okay? He'll come around eventually."

Spencer glanced at Kain and Zeke and smiled a little. "Yeah...yeah, you guys are right." He smiled slightly wider and hugged the vampire and the werewolf back, happy that they were there to comfort him. "Thanks for making me feel better. I'll try not to worry too much."

"That's good," Kain murmured, smiling.

"Yeah," Zeke said.

"Well, we're going to the beach, aren't we?" Spencer asked.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Kain said, remembering their plans. "I forgot."

"Same here," Zeke replied. "Thanks for reminding us, Spencer."

Spencer smiled and got up after the two older teens let him go, walked to his dresser, and got out his swimming trunks. He turned back to the others and said, "Do you guys already have your shorts on?"

The two nodded, stood up, and began unbuttoning their jeans.

"W-what are you d-doing?" Spencer asked nervously, feeling his face growing hot.

"We're showing you our swimming shorts," Kain and Zeke replied together. They were grinning as Spencer tried to sheild his eyes, and laughed when he accidentally backed up into the wall.

"P-please keep your pants on! I'm too young to be getting the thoughts that are invading my thinking space!"

"Alright." The two older teens kept laughing as they buttoned their pants back up, and sat back down on the bed. "You're going to see our shorts at the beach, anyways, you know."

"Yeah, but it's alright to be half-naked there. Other people will be, too," Spencer explained. He turned his back to the grinning vampire and werewolf, and pulled his jeans off to change into his swim shorts. When he pulled his jeans back on and turned back around, he saw that Kain and Zeke were discussing something of great interest, occasionally tossing glances at him and smiling.

"What?"

"We were talking about Tokio Hotel," Kain replied.

"Have you heard of them?" Zeke asked.

Spencer nodded, smiling. "I love that band. They're the best band ever."

"Yeah, they're definitely an awesome band, alright!" Zeke said.

"Heck yeah, they are!" Kain said, grinning. "I love how they named their band: Tokio Hotel. The name sounds just as awesome and energetic as their songs, doesn't it?"

Spencer and Zeke nodded, grinning just as Kain was. The three of them sat there on Spencer's bed for about another five or six minutes, before ending their group discussion, grabbing an old thin blanket and sunblock, and heading out to the beach.

"Wow! It's perfect for the beach today," Zeke said, walking with his hands behind his head. "It's so bright and warm! Hey, are you going to be okay, Kain?"

"Yeah," Kain replied. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that you're a vampire and everything, I thought that you'd try to avoid the sunlight. You mean you're okay walking out in broad daylight like this?"

Kain nodded, smiling. "Yep. You could say that...I'm a day-walker!"

"Wow," Spencer murmured, amazed. "I didn't know that vampires could walk around in the sun."

Kain smiled wider and wrapped his arms around the Emo Kid's shoulders. "Only some of us can. Sometimes the night-walkers get jealous and pick fights with us. Try to kill us off somehow and take our powers, and our ability to walk around during the day."

"Oh man," Spencer said, frowning. "That's got to be rough trying not to get ambushed."

"Not really. The other vampires don't even know I'm a day-walker, so as long as they don't find out, I'm safe."

Zeke smiled and tugged lightly on Kain's ponytail, making said teen chuckle. "If we're too loud, they'll find us, and they'll see you with us, and you'll be so busy screaming with us, you might give away the answer."

"Oh, Zeke. You know that I don't scream, I whisper. Very seductively. In your ear. Like this," Kain whispered, grinning as he leaned back towards Zeke. He grinned wider when he saw Zeke blush and scowl at him, and continued to hold Spencer around the shoulders. "Heh, you get flustered so easily, Zeke."

"Shut up," Zeke said playfully, still blushing. "So what if I do? Do you have a problem with it, Kain?"

Kain smiled. "Nope. I just think it's really cute. It suits you," he replied, winking.

Spencer laughed, watching the two older teens fight with each other, and felt the excitement well up inside him as they approached the familiar sights and sounds of the beach. Kain and Zeke stopped fighting as the three of them walked across the hot sand, trying to find a somewhat shady spot to get settled on. Once they made their place on the beach, the teens shed their outer clothes and made a small pile in the corner of the blanket, and looked out at all of the beach-goers, smiling.

"Wow, it sure looks nice here," Kain said. He looked around at the people, the water, and the sand, and sighed. "I can't remember the last time I came to the beach. It's been way too long..."

"I know what you mean," Zeke said, nodding. "I haven't been here since my parents died, and even then, we still didn't come here very often."

"But you look like you came to the beach every day since summer started," Spencer said. He sat down on the blanket and proceeded to apply sunblock to his pale skin. "Do you go tanning at all?"

Zeke shook his head, laughing. "No, no! I don't tan! That seems like a pretty weird idea. I'm naturally tan."

"Yeah," Kain added. "The only people I know that tan are usually girls; human girls. Oh yeah, I've met some girls before at the resturaunt, Spencer," he said, smiling at Spencer, who looked like he was about to ask something. "You were unconsious at the time, and they were only there to flirt. I told them I was closing for the night, and they got really mad. So they left and I spent the rest of the time watching over you to make sure you were okay."

Spencer blushed and accidentally squeezed the bottle a little too hard; the sunblock missed his arm and instead erupted from a bubble in the lotion, causing the white sunblock to shoot out onto his chest and stomach, covering him in a sticky white mess. He blushed furiously and refused to meet the older teens' eyes, knowing that they were blushing just as hard as he was.

"I-I'm so s-sorry," Spencer stuttered, trying to rub the sunblock in to make it less noticable and embarrassing. "This...that wasn't supposed to happen...I guess I put too much pressure on the bottle..."

"Spencer..."

The embarrassed Emo Kid looked up, his face as red as a tomato, and saw that Kain and Zeke were looking down at him, blushing pink and unsmiling. He blinked and looked back down at his body, trying hard not to let mature images take over his mind. He felt tears of embarrassement sting his eyes as he avoided Kain and Zeke's gaze, but quickly realized that the two were now sitting down so close to him that he could feel their hands brush his legs. He tried to suppress a whimper and looked up at them.

"I'm really sorry, guys," the Emo mumbled, still blushing. "I...I didn't know it would – "

"Here." Kain and Zeke raised their hands up to his chest and stomach and began rubbing the sunblock in, unaware and uncaring of peoples' odd stares from nearby. They suppressed the urge to make the vulnerable young Emo Kid writhe and moan beneath their fingertips, but his incessant blushing and flinching and whimpering made it hard for the vampire and the werewolf to concentrate and keep their thoughts clean. Apparently Spencer noticed this as well, for he blushed and looked away, coughing quitely.

"What's wrong?" Kain asked.

"Your...uh...your shorts look a little...tight..."

"Our shorts look...oh, wow..." Zeke said, blushing lightly and looking at Kain as to avoid staring down at his swimming trunks.

"Don't feel bad, Zeke; we're all having naughty thoughts right now, aren't we, Spencer?"

Spencer nodded and laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. You two constantly force it on me everywhere we go."

"Well, you constantly force it on us everywhere we go." Kain retorted, grinning. "Being too innocent and cute for your own good."

The three of them sat laughing and talking for a while before finally getting up, sunblock completely rubbed in on their bodies, and walking down to the water. Well, Zeke and Kain did, anyways; Spencer stayed behind under the bit of shade cast by a nearby tree and watched the older teens goof off in the water. He felt as though something dangerous was going to happen if he joined them out in the water. He never was really comfortable around the water; one reason was that he never learned how to swim, and when he jumped from the bridge, he thought he'd die facing his fear. Although Kain rescued him from drowning, Spencer was still determined to stay away from deep water until the end.

"Ah! Kain, that's so cold!" Spencer heard Zeke say, laughing.

"I'm terribly sorry, Zeke! I'll warm you up!"

Spencer smiled in the vampire and werewolf's direction and let out a little yawn, leaning back on the blanket to lay down. Noticing the slowly developing silence in the area, he took it to his advantage to start singing softly. He didn't even notice that Kain and Zeke were splashing around near the shore to come get him.

"Spencer! Are you coming?"

"Huh?"

"Are you coming? You know, into the water with us?" Kain asked, smiling.

Spencer hesitated, not wanting to reveal the truth to his friends, and shrugged. "Uh...well, I don't know...I mean, yeah, I want to, but..."

"So what's the problem?" Zeke asked. "We're out here, having fun, and you're all alone out there with no one to have fun with. We feel bad if we leave you by yourself."

"Yeah," Kain agreed. "You'll feel better once you feel how nice the water is."

"Well..." Spencer thought for a second, and was about to tell them his secret, when he saw the older teens begin to walk back up to their spot. He watched them as they sat down, smiling at him, and smiled back at them weakly, lost for words.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"We're kidnapping you from the shade. And we're going to get you out in the sun for a brief moment to swim."

"W-what?"

Kain and Zeke grinned and siezed Spencer by the wrists, pulled him up, and dragged him down the sand and into shallow water. The surprised Emo Kid flinched when the tiny waves splashed at his ankles, but he quickly hid his slight fear and put on a strained smile as the vampire and the werewolf glanced back at him, smiling reassuringly.

"See? Doesn't it feel good, Spencer?" Kain asked.

"Y-yeah, it does. Now that I've felt the water, can I go back up to the blanket?"

"What? Already?" Zeke asked confusedly. "But you just got here. Come on, at least stay out here for a few more minutes."

"But – "

"We'll stay here with you, alright?" The two older teens smiled and hugged Spencer, a sure promise that they were speaking the truth.

"Well...okay," Spencer murmured. He felt a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about going into deep water, but he knew Kain and Zeke would be there to help him if he needed it.

"That's the spirit," Zeke said.

"Cool," Kain commented.

The three of them waded out into deeper water, with Spencer clinging tightly to the older teens' arms, and slowly they made it to the point where only their chests and upper bodies were visible above the water. Kain and Zeke were trying to persuade the now terrified Emo to follow them deeper into the water, but poor Spencer was having a panic attack.

"It's all right, Spencer," Kain whispered soothingly.

"We're here for you. You'll be okay," Zeke murmured softly.

"No! No! Let me go!" Spencer was kicking and screaming in the water, attracting curious eyes, but he didn't care. He was too scared to think straight, and he actually let go of Kain and Zeke and began moving out into deeper water in his fit of terror.

"Spencer!"

"Help! I can't – I can't swim!" Spencer screamed at the top of his lungs, splashing wildly at the water's surface and swallowing mouthfuls of beach water as he tried to swim back to shore. "Ah! Help!"

Kain and Zeke swam towards the panicking Emo Kid, panic written on their own faces as they tried to call out and calm him down. Nothing was working, and the drowning Emo was sinking deeper and deeper into the water, still screaming.

The last thing Spencer remembered before fading into darkness was seeing someone else swimming up to him and hearing Kain and Zeke's shouts of worry and concern...


	8. Chapter 8

…**A While Later…**

"...cer? Spen...cer...? Spencer...? Are you alright?"

Spencer squeezed his eyes tightly before slowly opening them. His vision blurred and his eyes unfocused, he hesitated a moment before he gained his vision back, only to be found looking up at blonde hair and feeling someone else's mouth over his with one of their hands under his chin, the other on his chest. He blushed and flinched without realizing it, causing his blonde life-saver to pull back and stare down into his eyes, blushing himself, but at the same time a look of relief on his somewhat pale face.

"Are you okay?" the blonde teen asked.

Spencer stared, shocked, at who he now realized was the same blonde teen from the mall. He stared blankly into his sky-blue eyes, blinked and nodded weakly, trying not to seem embarrassed; the blonde teen was trying to do the same.

"That's good." The blonde laid Spencer's head back down on the ground, blushing, and smiled a little. "Please don't...scare me like that..." he said, blushing slightly harder.

"O-okay," Spencer said. He watched as the blonde teen smiled again, waved goodbye, and ran off in the opposite direction. The Emo blushed again and blinked, just now realizing that not once did the teen seem afraid of him or the two older teens.

"Hey, Spencer," Kain started worriedly, "are you alright?"

"Y-yeah...I think so..." Spencer coughed, choking on a bit of water, and sighed, closing his eyes. "Can I go back and lay on the blanket for a while, please?"

"Of course, Spencer," Zeke said.

The vampire and the werewolf helped the Emo Kid to his feet and, wrapping his arms around their shoulders, began walking him up to the blanket. They glanced sideways at each other, frowning slightly, and seemed to carry on a conversation about Spencer without words. When they reached the blanket, they sat Spencer down and smiled apologetically at him, saying sorry for not helping him more than they did.

"Thanks," Spencer said, smiling weakly. "I'm sorry, guys...I didn't mean to ruin the day..."

"You didn't, Spencer," Kain murmured. He and Zeke tightly embraced the Emo, smiling, and both kissed him on the cheeks.

"Yeah, it's not your fault," Zeke said reassuringly.

The Emo Kid smiled again, slightly blushing, and hugged the two older teens back. He still felt bad, but he was determined to try and forget about it; although he still kept remembering how scared he was when he was drowning, how he was slipping out of conciousness, how the blonde teen from the mall saved him using CPR...

"Hey, Spencer?"

"Yeah, Zeke?"

"Why didn't you tell us you couldn't swim?"

Spencer blinked and stared down at the blanket regretfully. He was hoping that they wouldn't ask, although he knew they were bound to find out eventually. He felt them let him go, and stared up into their eyes. The vampire and the werewolf were staring at him, concerned. They'd never seen him that scared of anything since he met either of them, so that made things especially tough.

"Well, I...I..."

"Spencer?"

"I never told you because...I was scared..."

Kain and Zeke glanced at each other and frowned. "Of us?"

Spencer shook his head, staring back down at the blanket. "No...of the water..."

"The water?" Zeke echoed. "Why? What happened?"

"Is it because of what happened that one night, Spencer...?"

Zeke turned and looked at Kain. "Huh? What night?"

Spencer blinked again and sighed sadly, remebering the events of the night he met Kain. "It...it was a while ago, but I still remember. Do you, Kain?"

Kain nodded.

"Well...It was really stormy out, and I was caught outside in the rain. I was feeling really depressed that day, and I didn't know how to handle it. I mean, I felt really sad before, too, but not like I was that day..." Spencer cleared his throat quietly and continued on, feeling a bit reluctant to do so. "Anyways, I felt like I was in over my head, so I decided to...to find the bridge and..."

"And...?"

"And I...I jumped over the edge into the river..."

Zeke blinked and hugged the Emo Kid tightly again, trying to make him feel better. "Then what happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Then I found him sinking below the water's surface, and jumped in to help him," Kain explained, taking over for Spencer. "He was unconcious when I got him out of the river, so I took him back to my friend's resturaunt and watched over him until he woke up."

"Wow, you saved Spencer's life, Kain?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that."

"No, he's right..." Spencer looked at Kain and Zeke, tears rolling down his cheeks, but a small smile on his sad face. "You saved me from drowning that night, Kain. If you hadn't found me...I would have died..."

Kain smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around the crying Emo, soothing him. Zeke continued to hug Spencer, feeling sad but at the same time happy that he didn't die after all. The three of them sat there on the blanket, hugging each other lovingly despite peoples' stares.

"Thanks, guys," Spencer murmured, wiping away more tears. "I'm glad I didn't drown after all. If I had drowned, I would have never met you two...thank you so much Kain, Zeke..."

"No problem," the older teens whispered. They gently pushed Spencer back onto the blanket and, still embracing him, kissed him lightly on the cheeks.

Spencer blushed and squeaked with laughter when they began tickling his sides. He tried to move away from their hands, but they both had him cornered, pinned down to their blanket. "Ahahaha! Kain! Zeke! S-stop it! That tickles!" he laughed.

"Nope. Nothing doing until you feel better and be happy, Spencer," Kain said, laughing a little himself.

"I-I do! Hahahaha! I feel happy, now, guys! R-really!"

"Positive?" Zeke asked, grinning.

"P-positive! I swear!"

The vampire and the werewolf stopped tickling the laughing Emo Kid and decided to simply grin and laugh, remembering what happened with the earlier sun block incident, which of course made Spencer blush profusely and apologize. They kissed the embarrassed Emo again and asked if he wanted to go back out into the water. When he said no, Kain and Zeke began to argue, but instead smiled and promised to come back to him in a little while and began walking down to the shore, glancing back and trying to get Spencer to follow.

"I'm sorry, guys! I'll come down in a bit, okay?" Spencer called after Kain and Zeke.

"Alright! It's your decision, Spencer!"

Watching the older teens play around in the water, Spencer smiled a little and yawned, feeling a bit tired in the heat. He decided to close his eyes and rest for a second, but his quick rest slowly turned into a deep sleep...

…**Later…**

"Unh..."

"Hey, Spencer. Come on, time to wake up."

"Huh...?"

"Rise and shine, sleepy-head."

Spencer opened his eyes, raising a hand to block out the bright light of the sun, and yawned. "What's going on? Are we leaving already?"

Zeke shook his head. "No, not yet. We brought you some food. We figured you'd be a little hungry after a while, so we got you this."

Kain held out a small box and handed it to Spencer, smiling. "Here you go."

Spencer took the box from Kain and stared at it for a second, before opening it. He found a hotdog with mustard and fries with a few packages of ketchup inside. He smiled at the two older teens and set the box down, took out the hotdog, and quickly began eating.

"Is it good?" Kain asked, smiling.

Spencer nodded and took another bite. They hadn't eaten anything since the night before, so anything to Spencer would taste good – although he didn't eat very much too often anymore, but he didn't know why. All the same, he was thankful that Kain and Zeke thought of him and got him something to eat.

"Wow, Spencer. You sure were hungry, huh?"

"Yeah," Spencer replied, swallowing another mouthful of food. "Thanks so much, you guys. Did you get anything to eat?"

"Yeah," Kain said. He picked up two other boxes, similar in size to Spencer's box, passed one to Zeke, and together they both opened their boxes and began eating their hotdogs. "Same as you," they said.

The three of them sat there, eating their lunch in the semi-silence, glancing at each other every so often and smiling. As they were finishing up the last of their fries, six girls came running up to them, smiling hopefully and blushing slightly.

"Why, hello ladies," Kain said politely. "May we help you with something?"

"Well...um...w-we, I mean, my f-friends and I, we...ah...um..." The girls blushed harder and they each whispered something to each other, and one of the girls gave the girl speaking a little nudge, urging her to go on. "We, uh...we wanted to ask if...if you'll go out with us?"

Spencer, Kain, and Zeke looked at each other for a second, then Zeke asked the girls, "You want us to go out with you?"

All six girls nodded excitedly, blushing and giggling.

"Well," Spencer began, hesitating, "you all are very pretty, but I'm not sure it would work with us going out with all six of you..."

"Don't worry," the lead girl said. "We'll make it work. Right girls?"

"Yeah!"

"Totally!"

Kain and Zeke smiled at each other before saying, "We're terribly sorry, ladies, but there's already someone else in our lives."

Some of the girls gasped, others whined, and one or two others kicked the sand angrilly. "Who?" they demanded, both looking upset and curious.

"Him." The vampire and the werewolf were both pointing at Spencer, who noticed this and blushed slightly. The two older teens grinned at the surprised Emo and wrapped their arms around his shoulders, making said teen blush a bit harder.

The six girls had a look on their faces that seemed to be a cross between disgusted and excited, almost a little perverted kind of excitement. "Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh. Well, sorry to have bothered you..." The girls walked away, disappointed and somewhat turned-on, talking and glancing back every so often, obviously waiting for the three teens to do something.

"Were you guys just saying that to get them to leave?" Spencer asked, staring down at the blanket.

"Nope. We mean it." Kain and Zeke pulled Spencer down onto the blanket, smiling at the surprised and blushing younger teen, and gently kissed his pink cheeks, quickly making Spencer whimper and smile. "You're our one and only, Spencer."

"I feel so loved."

"You are so loved."

The three teens laid on the blanket, discussing the most random things that came to mind, and observed the activities around them. Kain turned to Zeke and asked, grinning, "You know what I like best about the beach?"

"What's that?" Zeke asked, grinning as well.

"You get to be half-naked in public, and you don't get in trouble for it," Kain said.

Zeke laughed, nodding. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly!"

"Great minds think alike," Spencer said, "or so they say. That's just like you two, though. Always drooling over people who barely have anything on."

"No, we only drool over you, Spencer." The werewolf and the vampire kissed the Emo Kid lightly on the cheeks before laughing at his flustered expression. "We're going back out to the water again. And you're coming with us. Come on."

"...Okay..."

Kain and Zeke smiled, took hold of Spencer's hands, and together they began walking down to the shore. They felt stares in their direction, possibly because of what happened earlier, but they ignored them. Spencer gently squeezed his friends' hands nervously, and the two older teens squeezed his hands back, telling him he'll be okay.

As they approached the shore, Spencer began trembling slightly. "I-I don't know about this, guys...I'm starting to have second thoughts," he said, looking back at the blanket.

"Don't worry, Spencer." Kain smiled and pulled the nervous Emo Kid into a close embrace.

"We're here for you. We'll make sure you don't drown." Zeke tightly hugged Spencer along with Kain.

"We promise," Kain and Zeke whispered together.

Spencer blushed and hesitated, staring into the older teens' eyes. He glanced at the water ahead and back at Kain and Zeke, and finally nodded. "Alright...but – "

"We won't go out too deep this time," Kain said, smiling reassuringly.

"Yeah. We'll only go out a little deep," Zeke added.

Spencer blinked and allowed the vampire and the werewolf to lead him into the water, instantly regretting his decision. He tried to break away from their grip, but they simply squeezed his hands a bit tighter, trying to calm him down. The Emo wanted nothing more than to stay with Kain and Zeke, but he was afraid to go to deep water.

"How are you holding up, Spencer?" Zeke asked, turning to look at the frightened Emo Kid.

"I-I don't know...I'm still k-kind of scared, you guys..."

"Everything will be okay. Trust us," Kain said, smiling sweetly.

Spencer nodded, still somewhat afraid, and followed the two teens out until his feet could barely reach the bottom. By this time, he was starting to whimper and splash the water's surface, wishing to go back.

"Guys, I-I can't reach the bottom! I don't want to drown! Can we please go back?"

"Sure, but you're staying in the water," Kain teased. He and Zeke retraced their footsteps until their bodies were a bit above the surface of the water, at which point Spencer was smiling a little and seemed to calm down some.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The three of them began splashing around at each other, laughing. Kain and Zeke were water wrestling with each other, and Spencer was watching with an amused grin on his face. Although, every now and then he'd glance back up at the shore, looking for the blonde-haired teen that had saved him from drowning.

Zeke noticed the Emo Kid's actions and thought for a moment. Then he smiled, swam over to him, and dragged a finger across his back. He snickered when Spencer yelped in surprise, and gently bit his ear, grinning.

"Why aren't you having fun, Spencer?"

"Huh? I am having fun."

"Staring up at the shore with a lost look on your face doesn't seem like fun to me." Zeke backed away from Spencer a little, frowning slightly. "Come on. Join us in a wrestling match, Spencer. You'll feel better."

"Yeah," Kain said cheerfully. "All three of us can fight against each other."

Spencer smiled a little, thinking of the three of them water wrestling and attracting more curious eyes. He nodded, laughing. "Okay, alright. I'll fight, but no fighting dirty."

"How can we fight dirty – " Zeke began, smiling and turning to Kain.

" – when we're already in the water?" Kain finished, smiling as well, looking at Kain.

Spencer laughed and hugged the two older teens. "You two know what I mean!" he laughed.

"Yeah, we know," Kain said, grinning amusedly.

"Got it," Zeke replied.

The Emo Kid smiled. "Alright, then. Let's fight!"

The Emo, the vampire, and the werewolf all began shouting and throwing each other around in the water. They were having fun, and the odd stares from surrounding bystanders only increased their fun. They kicked each other and threw playful punches at one another, being careful not to cause any real harm.

"Ah! Zeke! Kain!" Spencer laughed, "I think you guys got a fish in my shorts!"

"Here, let us check," Kain said, laughing.

"Better hope it doesn't bite," Zeke joked, grinning.

Spencer laughed along with the other teens. They all resumed their fight and eventually succeeded in knocking each other down in the water. Unfortunately in Spencer's case, he had another panic attack, and ended up latching onto Zeke's back as the brunette returned to the surface.

"It's okay, Spencer," Zeke said, smiling and looking over his shoulder at the frightened Emo Kid. "We're not underwater anymore."

Spencer looked up at the werewolf and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I know that, Zeke." He hugged Zeke slightly tighter and glanced over at Kain, still smiling a little.

Kain chuckled and floated over to them, smiling. He hugged Zeke and nearly pushed them all back into the water, although the others didn't mind; they all reluctantly broke away from each other and splashed water at each other again.

They all stayed out in the water and goofed off some more before going back up to the blanket.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Spencer?" Kain asked, smiling at the Emo.

"Yeah, that was pretty fun."

"See? And you didn't drown, did you?" Zeke asked.

"Well, I don't know if the first accident can be counted as drowning..." Spencer sat down on the blanket, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He yawned and looked up at the older teens, smiling. "But yeah, I guess you guys are right. Plus, we got to see that blonde boy from the mall again."

"Yep. See?"

The Emo Kid nodded. He laid back, yawning and stretching his arms and legs. "We have school tomorrow, don't we?" he asked.

Kain and Zeke nodded solemnly.

"Man, that's not fair!" Spencer whined. He folded his arms across his chest and scowled. "I don't want to go back to school!"

"None of us do. We have to, though. It sucks."

Spencer sighed and rolled over onto his stomach, burying his head in his arms. "Yeah, you're both right. I'm afraid, though..."

Kain and Zeke both sat down on either side of the Emo Kid and frowned. "Why?"

"Because every year, no matter where I go, everyone hates me for no good reason. I don't know why! I don't even know them or anything, and yet they repeatedly try to make me as miserable as possible!" Spencer began swinging his legs in the air and lifted up his head, sighed, and looked up at the sky. "It doesn't make any sense...they're all against me..."

"Hey, come on. Cheer up." Kain and Zeke laid down on the Emo's back, smiling. "You'll have us in school, and you can come find us and tell us if something's wrong. Okay?"

Spencer thought for a moment and smiled. "Okay," he said. He felt the older teens get up, and he rolled over onto his back, smiling. "Thanks, guys."

"No problem, Spencer," Kain said, smiling.

"Don't mention it," Zeke said, giving the thumbs-up.

The three teens sat there, talking about school plans and grimacing every time they heard about how bad the new school year would be. They were trying to guess which classes they'd end up getting, laughing and being sarcastic and immitating people they've hated long before in school, when Spencer saw the sun getting low in the sky. Kain and Zeke seemed to notice as well, because they were looking around at everyone leaving.

"I think it's about time to leave, don't you?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah, probably," Kain murmured. He turned to Spencer and smiled. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," Spencer said. He, Kain, and Zeke stood up and began folding the blanket, placing the sun block on top of it when it was folded and their clothes were piled on. "We've got school tomorrow anyways, though. Everyone's closing down everything early."

"Yep."

"True."

The three teens smiled and began walking back to Spencer's house, still in their swimming shorts. Spencer was grinning as Zeke and Kain started play fighting again, spitting humorous comments and acting out strange and amusing body gestures, and the two older teens smirked at each other before tackling Spencer in a tight hug. They laughed when he blushed and wrapped their arms around his shoulders, smiling.

"So, are you getting a ride, taking the bus, or walking to school, Spencer?" Kain asked.

"Uh...I don't know. I'm probably going to be walking. How about you guys?"

"Eh, same here," Zeke replied.

"I'm with him on that one," Kain said.

"So, do you want to walk to school together then?" Spencer asked.

"Sure," Kain and Zeke replied together.

Spencer smiled. "Cool."

When they finally reached Spencer's house, the teens walked through the unlocked front door and into the livingroom. They all noticed it at the same time; it was unuasually empty once again. Spencer, Kain, and Zeke looked around for another note, and almost instantly found one on the table:

_We'll be out tonight. Watch over your sister and her friend._

"Well, well," Kain said amusedly, grinning. "Déjà vu, huh, Spencer?"

"Yeah, seems like it."

"They're out again?" Zeke asked.

Spencer nodded. "It looks like it, yep." He turned to face the vampire and the werewolf, smiling a little. "I guess I'll see you both in the morning, then?"

"Yeah." The two older teens hugged Spencer before following him up to his room. They picked up their bags of clothes, followed Spencer back down the stairs, and stopped at the front door, exchanging sad smiles.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Spencer."

"Okay. See you guys tomorrow."

The three teens exchanged kisses goodbye before Zeke and Kain walked off down the street, waving goodbye to the blushing Emo Kid standing on the front porch.

Spencer waved back and sighed. He walked back into the house, still blushing, and smiled. Walking up the stairs to go to his room, he heard something coming from Suzy's room, so he decided to go check what it was. He had a feeling they were up to something, because when he reached the door, he could hear whispering and giggles coming from inside Suzy's bedroom.

He knocked on the door. "Uh, Suzy? Can I come in?"

Spencer could hear a gasp and immediately felt like he was intruding on something. He could hear the shuffling of bare feet on the wooden bedroom floor before the door opened, revealing a pair of pajama-clad eight-year-old girls, grinning from ear to ear. They seemed to have a mischeivious gleam in their eyes, and this worried Spencer just a bit.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked cautiously.

"Nothing, Big Brother. We were just talking about having a makeover. That's all," Suzy replied. By her side, Emily was trying to supress a fit of giggles, turning slightly red in the face. "Do you want to help?"

"Uh, no thanks." Spencer felt uneasy, and decided it was best to just leave the girls alone. He then realized it was getting late, so he asked Emily, "Am I going to be walking you home, or is someone going to pick you up?"

"Oh, my brother's going to come get me," Emily replied, momentarily forgetting her giggles.

"Do you know when?"

Emily looked over at the alarm clock on Suzy's bedside table. "I think in about half an hour."

Suzy smiled and tackled her older brother to the floor. "You should meet him, Big Brother! You two would get along great! Plus, he's really pretty!"

"Pretty?"

"Yeah!" Emily and Suzy replied together, giggling. "Pretty!"

The Emo Kid blinked and cracked a little smile. "Heh, so he's a pretty boy?"

"Oh yes," Suzy said, nodding. "Very pretty boy!"

"But he doesn't act like it, though," Emily said. "He's really nice and kinda shy around people he doesn't know. He's not stuck-up like most pretty people."

"Well that's good."

"Yep."

Suzy smiled and tugged on Emily's shirt sleeve. "Come on, let's put makeup on!" She turned to Spencer and smiled, causing the Emo Kid to become slightly nevous. "Will you help us, Spencer?"

"Uh...sure, okay." Spencer followed nervously as the two eight-year-olds led him into the room.

"Okay, then. Now," Emily said, grabbing one of Spencer's arms, Suzy grabbing the other arm, and together they knocked him backwards onto the floor, "sit here. Don't move, okay?"

"Wait...oh no. No! Get that thing away from me!"

"Just sit still, Big Brother!" Suzy shouted, wrestling with the spastic Emo Kid trying to tear away from her grip. "We're gonna make you look pretty!"

"You should know by now, Suzy, that I only wear eyeliner and eyeshadow! No lipstick!"

"But you'd look so pretty!" Emily argued. She quickly ran and sat on Spencer's arms, with Suzy sitting on his legs, and hastily applied the cherry-red lipstick to his lips. She screwed up her face in concentration as she tried to keep Spencer's head still, but he kept moving too much to apply it straight, therefore the result being quite a few stray lines of red going across the bottom of the protesting Emo Kid's face. The girls were caught in an endless fit of laughter, while Spencer checked the makeup in Suzy's mirror, scowling. He was about to yell at the two laughing girls, but instead grinned at his reflection and started laughing himself.

"We – we're sorry, B-Big Brother!" Suzy gasped, clutching at her sides from laughing so hard. "It's – it's just so funny!"

"It's okay," Spencer laughed. "I think it's really quite hilarious, too!"

Suzy, Spencer, and Emily sat there, laughing their lungs out on the bedroom floor, when they heard someone knocking on the front door. Still laughing, the three of them ran down to the living room, the girls ignoring Spencer's demands for a tissue before the door handle even be touched. Emily and Suzy were the first ones to reach the door and wrenched it open before the Emo Kid could shout at them to back away.

"Hi – hiya, Brother! You're already here?" Emily asked, out of breath.

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"Can someone get me a tissue or something?" Spencer asked, running a finger over the lipstick on his face. "I've got red all over my face, and I'm sure it's not pretty!"

"Nonsense, Big Brother! You look great!" Suzy laughed.

"'Nonsense'? I look like Ronald McDonald! Can someone please get me something to wipe my face off on?!" Spencer heard soft laughter coming from the front door and glanced over at Emily and her brother, and he immediately regretted his decision; standing behind Emily was none other than the blonde from not only the mall, but from the beach. Apparently the blonde was trying not to laugh, but unfortunately he was failing miserably.

Spencer blushed in embarrassment and quickly turned away, but not quickly enough; the blonde teen had already seen the make-over nightmare that had occurred upon his face and was laughing softly. The embarrassed Emo Kid was glaring at his younger sister warningly, demanding a wet towel. In spite of himself, he was grinning and biting his lip, holding back more laughter.

"Looks like Emily had another one of her make-over ideas again, huh?" the blonde asked, tilting his head to one side. He was grinning slightly.

Spencer turned his head towards him, finally laughing. "Yeah, looks like it. Has this happened to you before?"

The blonde teen nodded, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly. "Yeah, sometimes. She always ends up trapping me and putting makeup on me, even when I try turning away." He looked down at his little sister, amusement clearly visible in his sky-blue eyes. "Why do you torture us boys so?"

Emily giggled. "Because boys look pretty in makeup!" she said, laughing.

Her older brother laughed. "Well, thank you, Emily! But boys aren't supposed to wear girls' makeup. We only wear minimal makeup."

"Like eyeliner," Spencer interjected, smiling.

"Exactly."

Emily and Suzy exchanged an amused look before running off down the hall towards the bathroom to fetch Spencer his long-awaited towel.

"Sorry about my little sister," the blonde said, smiling apologetically. "She's really girly about that stuff. I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Not at all." Spencer motioned for the other teen to come in from the front porch, and sat down on the couch. He smiled as the teen sat down next to him, and further discussed the subject of their little sisters' make-over obsessions, pausing only when the girls came back with a wet towel.

"Thanks, Little Sis, Emily."

"You're welcome, Spencer."

The blonde teen smiled. "I didn't know your name was Spencer."

"Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot to introduce myself. Yeah, my name's Spencer."

"I'm Allen. It's really nice to meet you, Spencer."

"Well, actually, I believe this would be our third encounter," Spencer said, smiling as he wiped away the red lipstick from his face. "The first one, though, where something terrifying isn't happening."

Allen blushed slightly, embarrassed. "O-oh yeah. You're right. I guess I forgot about the mall incident. And the...the beach incident," he murmured, blushing slightly harder.

"Yeah..." Spencer removed the towel from his face and smiled a little at Allen, blushing dusty pink. "But if you hadn't have...you know...done what you did, I probably wouldn't be here right now. Thanks for saving me, Allen..."

"No problem, Spencer," Allen said, smiling a little as well.

Suzy and Emily smiled, sitting on the arms of the couch. Emily was smiling over at Suzy, and vice-versa, when Suzy noticed Spencer's face and said, "You still have a little bit of lipstick left on you, Big Brother."

"Where?"

"Right here," Suzy said, poking Spencer on the cheek, close to the side of his mouth. "It's a pretty big spot. Kinda smeared, too."

Spencer frowned and sighed. "How did I miss that?"

"Here." Allen took the towel from Spencer and, blushing slightly, gently pressed the damp part of the towel to Spencer's face. "I'll get it."

Spencer could feel his face growing warm as the blonde-haired teen gently rubbed the wet towel against his face, a look of pure shyness and slight nervousness written across his faintly blushing face. The Emo Kid smiled a little and stared into Allen's eyes as Allen stared into his. Their gaze never left each other as they slowly leaned closer to each other, both boys blushing and moving their hands closer together on the couch.

Emily and Suzy both seemed to notice this, for they both let out a collective gasp and began blushing hard. "What are you two doing?"

The two teens snapped back into reality and, noticing what they were just doing, blushed. Allen blinked and quickly wiped away the last bit of makeup on Spencer's face and handed him the towel. Spencer took it and nodded his thanks mutely. Neither of them could properly look each other in the eyes; they were a little too embarrassed.

"Well, we should be going," Allen said quietly. He stood up, still blushing slightly, and walked over to the door. Emily was following rather reluctantly. "Sorry about...well, you know," he murmured, staring down at the floor with his hand on the door knob.

"It's okay." Spencer walked over to the blonde teen and his younger sister and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "It's my fault, not your's. I'm sorry, really."

Allen turned his head to Spencer and smiled a little. "Well, either way, it happened. So I guess we're both to blame." He shrugged and looked back down at the floor, still smiling.

Spencer smiled back. There was a long silence, neither of the teens or their little sisters speaking a word, until finally Spencer said, "So, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Allen replied. He opened the door, letting Emily outside, and turned to fully face Spencer. He smiled again and blushed a little, rubbing his arm nervously. "See you at school, Spencer."

"See you at school, Allen."

The two teens hugged quickly before Allen and Emily walked out onto the front porch and down the street.

Spencer waved to the blonde teen and his sister before turning and walking back into the living room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. He smiled and walked up the stairs to go to his room, when he heard Suzy call him from the bottom of the stairs.

"Big Brother! Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to bed. I'm tired, plus we've got school tomorrow," Spencer replied, turning around to look at Suzy. "You should be going to bed, too. Okay?"

"Okay."

Spencer walked into his room and shut the door behind him, quickly changed into his boxers and pajamas, and crawled into bed, pulling the blankets high over himself. He instantly fell soundly asleep, smiling and dreaming of school the next day and the friends he's made so far.


End file.
